Business Matters: Air & Sea Travel creating customized trips for you

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Henry Au has been planning trips for others since he got out of school.

“I studied at HPU as a travel major. TIM, Travel Industry Management” Said Henry Au, owner of Air & Sea Travel. “So, I was into the business right after I graduated the college”.

But, his big leap came in 1999 when he opened Air & Sea Travel. The same business he oversees today nearly a quarter of a century later.  A business that specializes in custom group tours as small as twenty people and never larger than 35.

“We make groups of local people, the Hawaii people. We have our tour leaders that travel to different parts of the world,” said Au.

And, all the travel is booked directly from Hawaii with local guides leading way.

“That’s our specialty. So, we custom make all the tour itineraries for Hawaii people. So, we don’t sell to mainland booking companies are buying a package from mainland companies,” explained Au.

Instead, Au said he relies on the relationships built over the past 25 years to ensure his groups get the best experience at the best price. A formula his team has perfected over the years. And, while Asia is their sweet spot. Air & Sea puts together packages for destinations all over the world.

“Luckily, we have lots of loyal customers, so we were able to come back quickly,” said Au.

Au said thanks to that loyal and steadily growing customer base business was good. That is until the pandemic shut him down for two years. But, those same loyal travelers fueled his rebound.

“This year, we are getting back to about 80 to 90% pre-pandemic. We’re looking at about 2024; we should be better than 2019,” added Au.

He said the secret to his company’s success is simple. Giving his customers exactly what they want.

“We just think with the people we need and then we try to do something for them and in return the local Hawaii tourists. They really support us as well. And, my staff is great. So, they’re very helpful; and they also they love to travel business as well,” said Au.

And, the best part he said is his all do you need to do is say YES, and Air & Sea handles the rest.

“We take care of everything from the airfare, the hotels, the meals tours and sometimes I’ll give them some surprises along the way”.