Things are looking up for the beleaguered Hawaii Superferry.

Not only is the giant catamaran scheduled to return to service today — two weeks early — but the timing, it seems, could not be better.

With Aloha Airlines suddenly folding, the Superferry is poised to fill some of the gaps in interisland travel.

With airfares expected to rise significantly, the Superferry's prices should be more competitive and a better match to the market.

And with summer approaching, the seas should get calmer; the stormy weather that forced the repeated cancellations of its trips to Maui should be less of a concern.

All this bodes well for the company that has been both hailed and reviled since it first sailed into Hawaiian waters last year. But does it bode well for Hawai'i? It's certainly worth finding out.

Reliable interisland travel options — moving goods, services and people among the islands — are crucial for Hawai'i's economic vitality.

The Superferry, now operating in a more favorable business climate, deserves the chance to prove its worth, as it resumes its Honolulu-to-Maui service and aims at expanding to Kaua'i and the Big Island.

Nonetheless, the concerns raised by the Superferry haven't gone away; they must be acknowledged openly and honestly if the ferry expects broad public acceptance.

The environmental safeguards governing Superferry's operation must be observed scrupulously. Passengers must reacquaint themselves with the rules against transporting fishing nets, crustaceans such as 'opihi, and plants that don't have proper agricultural permits. Screeners must enforce the rules vigorously. Also, the Superferry should make its whale-avoidance efforts a top priority.

The Superferry's promise of becoming a useful and reliable partner in Hawai'i interisland travel remains unfulfilled.

It's now time to see if that can change.