MEDIA RELEASE

Mayor Billy Kenoi met with Japan Air Lines executives in Tokyo yesterday (Tuesday Hawaii time) to review proposed cost-saving steps for the airline and an incentive package assembled by tourism industry stakeholders to support the continuation of JAL’s direct flights to Kona.

“We had a very productive discussion, and key players in the Japan Air Lines leadership acknowledged their load factor for the direct flights to Kona for most of this year has improved by 20 to 30 percent over the average for the route for comparable months from 2003 to 2009,” Kenoi said.

“We also discussed cost cutting proposals that we believe will significantly benefit Japan Air Lines, along with state, county and private sector contributions to marketing efforts to help keep the JAL load factor as high as possible,” Kenoi said. “We believe it is clearly in the airline’s interest to continue to serve Kona.”

Mayor Kenoi returned Thursday morning to Hilo.

Tourism industry stakeholders have banded together with county, state and federal officials, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Big Island Visitors Bureau to encourage Japan Air Lines to continue the direct flights to Kona.

A timeline with some of the major developments to date follows:

* March and April — Kenoi meets with the Hawaii delegation and various Big Island visitor industry stakeholders to collectively develop a sustainability plan to help preserve the Narita-Kona flight.

* April 12 — Representatives of Hawaii Tourism Authority, Big Island Visitors Bureau, Kenoi and industry executives join state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert and others to develop an incentive package to encourage Japan Air Lines to continue the direct flights. The package includes commitments for financial contributions from Hawaii Tourism Authority, the County of Hawaii and the hotel industry to help promote Kona to the target market of Japanese travelers.

* April 13 — A delegation including Hawaii County Managing Director Bill Takaba, Hawaii Tourism Authority Chairman Mike McCartney, HTA Vice President for Brand Management David Uchiyama, Big Island Visitors Bureau George Applegate and others depart for Japan to make the case for continued direct flights to Kona, and to present the incentive package to the new board appointed to oversee the Japan Air Lines restructuring.

* April 26 — JAL board members fly to Oahu to meet with HTA executives and Kenoi to confirm that JAL plans to discontinue the direct Narita-Kona flights effective October 2010 as part of JAL’s larger decision to reduce routes and cut 16,500 jobs.

* April 28 — Kenoi convenes a special meeting between the Hawaii Tourism Authority Chairman Mike McCartney, State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert, Big Island Visitors Bureau Executive Director George Applegate and other major stakeholders such as the hotels and tour wholesale companies to pursue a strategy to respond to the flight suspension. At this meeting, HTA and the delegation commit to work with Hawaii Island officials and other interested parties to pull together an expanded airlift package that will encourage a carrier to serve Hawaii.

* May – Big Island Visitors Bureau works with marketing firm Hawaii Tourism Japan to assemble a special promotion effort to market Big Island attractions to the Japanese consumer.

* May to present — State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert leads an effort to find a replacement airline willing to fill the gap left by the announced suspension of the JAL direct flights to Kona.

* May 9-13 — HTA Chairman Mike McCartney and Vice President David Uchiyama fly to Japan and Korea to make various sales calls in the region, including meetings with tour operators and JAL to further the conversation.

* May-June — Discussions on ways to preserve the flight produce new ideas for reducing costs by millions of dollars per year. Advocates for the Narita-to-Kona flight also note that the load factor for most months from January to July 2010 has increased on the route by 20 to 30 percent over the average for the route for comparable months from 2003 to 2009.

* July 20 — Industry partners in Hawaii meet to plan a campaign to convince Japan Air Lines to delay the suspension of the Narita-to-Kona route until at least March 2011 based on the 20 to 30 percent increase in load factor for most of the first and second quarters of 2010 over historic levels.

* July 24 — HTA Vice President David Uchiyama and Big Island Visitors Bureau Executive Director George Applegate travel to Japan to present the proposal to the JAL board, and are told the board will consider the issue.

* July 26 — United States Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye writes on behalf of Kenoi and the Hawaii Tourism Authority to Seiji Maehara, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism. Senator Inouye asks Minister Maehara to continue to explore options for continuing the Narita-to-Kona flights, noting the significant increase this year in load factor for the route.

* Aug. 18 — Kenoi meets with Japan Air Lines executives in Tokyo to stress the importance of the Narita-to-Kona route and the potential for revenue growth given the dramatic 2010 increase in load factor. The meetings included four of the top executives involved in strategic planning and restructuring for JAL. They are: Shigemi Kurusu, Japan Air Lines’ executive officer and general manager, Corporate Planning Division; Takeshi Morita, manager of Corporate Planning; Tetsuya Onuki, vice president of Corporate Planning; and Masaharu Nakashima, director, Strategic Corporate Relations.