Categorized | Business, Featured

Hawaiian completes application for Tokyo-Kona nonstop service

MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaiian Airlines has completed its application to operate daily nonstop service between Tokyo International Airport at Haneda and Kona International Airport at Keahole.

Included in the application to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) were 175 letters of support for the route from businesses and individuals throughout the state.

“Our application did an extremely good job of outlining the public benefit in establishing a daily nonstop route between Tokyo and Kona,” said Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. “This route would bring an additional $74 million into the state and U.S. economies every year, supporting an additional 1,400 jobs – mostly on the Island of Hawaii.”

“We are very grateful to our community for rallying behind this application,” Dunkerley added.

Kona has been without a nonstop flight from Japan since Oct. 29, 2010, when Japan Airlines discontinued direct service from Narita Airport.

Hawaiian is competing for the routes against three legacy carriers: Delta, which hopes to fly from Tokyo to Seattle in partnership with Alaska Airlines; American Airlines, which hopes to fly between Tokyo and Los Angeles; and United Airlines, which is seeking approval for a Tokyo-San Francisco route.

The route was originally awarded to Delta Airlines in 2010 for service between Tokyo and Detroit, and was opened up for bid by the DOT last month after Delta asked for permission to transfer its rights to the Tokyo-Seattle service.

In its application, Hawaiian said it intends to begin service approximately 90 days after DOT approval, or approximately March 15, 2013, using its 294-seat wide body Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

The daily flight would depart from Kona at 5:30 p.m. and arrive in Tokyo at 10 p.m. the following day. The return flight would depart Tokyo at 11:55 p.m. and arrive in Kona at 12:45 p.m. the same day.

If approved, this would be Hawaiian’s fifth Japan route and fourth daily nonstop flight between Japan and Hawaii.

The airline already operates daily service to Honolulu from Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and will begin service to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido three times per week Oct. 30, 2012.

Hawaiian has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past eight years (2004-2011) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the highest of all domestic airlines serving Hawaii.

Now in its 83rd year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawaii’s biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service from its primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland.

Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (11) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti.

New nonstop service will begin between Honolulu and Sapporo, Japan (Oct. 30, 2012), Brisbane, Australia (Nov. 27, 2012), and Auckland, New Zealand (March 13, 2013).

Hawaiian also provides approximately 170 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands.

— Find out more:
www.HawaiianAirlines.com

Hawaiian Airlines Haneda Application

 

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