When ATA Airlines stopped flying last week, Elizabeth Hoefle found herself facing the possibility that flying her group of eight back to the Mainland might cost a whopping $7,200.

Instead, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority was able to help her and hundreds of other travelers. It tapped $5 million in emergency money to help charter and subsidize flights to help "thousands" of travelers stranded by the double shutdowns of Aloha and ATA airlines last week.

Hoefle said she'll remember the extra help from the state — and the $200 airline tickets she got — and will plan to come back to Hawai'i. But she'll also change some of her travel habits.

"I will now travel more cautiously. I will probably always buy travel insurance," she said. And she'll likely book on a major carrier with more reliability and assets than the once-economical ATA.

Hoefle and her group of family and friends were able to get a flight back to California yesterday on the first of the special Hawaiian Airlines charters arranged by the tourism agency. It came four days later than planned. The group spent about $3,000 more for finding a flight, a new place to stay, extending the car rentals and so on, not to mention time lost at work and school missed .

"We started scrambling on Thursday afternoon to try and find flights, and a competing airline quoted us $900 one-way off the island into L.A.," she said.

Hoefle is a financial adviser for Morgan Stanley, who lives in Bend, Ore. She drove to California to meet other family and friends for a Hawai'i spring break vacation.

By the time the four adults and four children got to Honolulu International Airport yesterday to catch the special flight, they were grateful for the help and ready to head home.

She said the state action will make a big difference for travelers who might otherwise skip Hawai'i based on a bad experience. Hoefle said this was her eighth trip to Hawai'i "and we'll come back to Hawai'i, absolutely."

Rex Johnson, HTA president and chief executive, said officials have been working hard to assist as many passengers as possible, both those trying to get back to the Mainland and local residents still on the Mainland.

His message to the displaced travelers was simple: "We're going to help you get back."

Johnson said it is worth the state helping pay for flights because of the risk to Hawai'i's reputation and the potential damage to the state's No. 1 industry.

"We are doing our very best to get people back in case this kind of thing happens again," Johnson said. He said the agency is uncertain of how much of the $5 million emergency fund will be needed to help get travelers home.

A group of 17 from Vallejo, Calif. — the Springstowne Middle School girls wrestling team — was relieved to be going home after a wrestling tournament Saturday that earned medals for all nine competitors.

Head coach Jason Guiducci said it was stressful to realize that the flights were so booked that they could possibly be delayed until midmonth and miss their state tournament as well.

Yesterday, Guiducci was grateful for the help. "So many people reached out to us in this moment of crisis. I'm at a loss for words," he said.

John Monahan, president and CEO of Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, said United Airlines flights added late yesterday will help stranded travelers on Maui. Both he and Johnson said they lacked specific numbers of travelers stranded here but estimated it might still be in the thousands.

Monahan said flights to the Mainland are fuller than those flying to Hawai'i.

Cathey and David Gerbig, of Phoenix, had planned a quick Hawai'i vacation to attend a friend's wedding. They had planned to save some money by flying standby and using Aloha and ATA when they got the news.

"It all went bad in a hurry," said David Gerbig. But Cathey Gerbig was able to find them Hawaiian flights that left yesterday at a cost of about $1,000.

Still, the Gerbigs felt pretty fortunate. He smiled and said, "She got to shop, I got to golf."