Hawaii Superferry yesterday reported passenger traffic last month was up 40 percent from June, with more than 36,600 people traveling between Honolulu and Maui on the high-speed ferry.

The company said its average load in July was 390 passengers and 99 vehicles per voyage, less than half the Alakai's capacity of 836 people and 230 vehicles.

While critics of the new interisland service like to point out the 350-foot ferry is traveling half empty, Superferry President and CEO Tom Fargo sees the Alakai as half full and well on its way to acceptance as an interisland travel and cargo alternative.

"It's just what we hoped for," Fargo said. "It's exactly what we had projected."

In addition to people, the Alakai carried 9,200 vehicles last month, up 36 percent from the June total. The June counts were up 20 percent from May, the ferry's first full month of operation after a shaky startup last year.

The gains in passenger and vehicle traffic are occurring while promotional pricing is in effect, and Superferry already is anticipating slower demand after August.

The company is seeking state Public Utilities Commission approval to cut its second roundtrip sailing from four to two days a week starting Sept. 3 through Nov. 30.

And starting Dec. 1, Superferry would drop the second roundtrip altogether, providing only a single daily sailing between the two islands, according to the company's Web site.

That would make the ferry less appealing to passengers desiring to make the round trip in a single day. Ferry travel during the winter months, when seas are rougher, also is less attractive to people prone to seasickness.

"We expect to see the normal roll-off that all transportation industries see after Labor Day," Fargo said. "We saw a little bit of a roll-off with people going back to school, but bookings for the rest of the month remain strong."

The company plans to begin service between O'ahu and Kawaihae on the Big Island sometime next year after its gets its second ship. Superferry is expected to take delivery in May of the $85 million catamaran, now under construction at the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

Fargo said there are no plans at this point to resume service to Kaua'i.

A recent QMark Research survey commissioned by the company indicated that 85 percent of passengers were Hawai'i residents. Fargo said the ferry hopes to offset any drop in travel by residents by increasing business from tour groups and other visitor segments.

"We haven't had the opportunity to develop all of the wholesale arrangements and get into the tourist piece of this thing. It takes longer to develop those relationships," he said.

For now, fares lower than what the airlines are offering and the novelty of the new interisland transport are attracting passengers, according to the survey.

Superferry had been offering one-way fares of $49 per person through the end of September, but the deadline for bookings was yesterday. New promotional fares are $10 higher.

Those $59 fares are good for travel through Oct. 31. Tickets for children ages 2 to 12, retired and active military, and seniors also went up $10, to $49.

Superferry also is extending a fuel surcharge waiver for promotional passenger fares. If put into effect, the surcharge — now at 65 percent — likely would eliminate the ferry's price advantage over interisland airlines.

Honolulu-to-Kahului fares posted on Hawaiian Airlines' Web site yesterday ranged from $64 to $129, fuel surcharge included.

Fargo said promotional pricing is being used "to give people the chance to ride the ship" and allow the company to take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing. He did not indicate how much longer the ferry would be offering discounted fares, but said "it wouldn't make much sense" to lift the waiver at this point.

Fargo noted the vessel has been in full operation only since May and is still in its startup phase.

"We've always said that to make this profitable you need a two-ship operation. You wouldn't expect any new enterprise to make a profit in its first three months," he said.

In addition to its daily morning cruises between Honolulu and Kahului, a second roundtrip is offered Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

After this week, the company is dropping the second Wednesday voyage in favor of Thursday sailings on Aug. 13, 20 and 27.

The switch was made in response to customer demand and to provide the means for "a long weekend getaway" before the close of summer, according to Superferry officials.

Starting in September, the second roundtrip sailing will be offered only on Fridays and Sundays, pending PUC approval.

Since its initial launch last August, the Superferry has endured legal challenges that shut down service for more than three months, environmental protests, two weeks of cancellations due to rough winter seas, and an unscheduled six weeks in drydock during February and March for repairs.

In the days leading up to the start of drydock repairs, the average load was 115 people and 40 cars from Honolulu to Maui, and 87 people and 39 cars on the return leg.

The Alakai resumed sailing on April 7 and began offering a second roundtrip May 9.