Hawaiian Airlines Applies to Provide Service to Honolulu and Kona from Haneda International Airport

HONOLULU, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. today filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking authority to operate two nonstop routes between Haneda International Airport (HND) in Tokyo and the state of Hawai'i. 

The application filed in Washington, DC, seeks confirmation that Hawaiian will continue to operate its successful existing Honolulu-Haneda service during the daytime hours.  It also seeks additional authority to operate a second daily route from Haneda serving Honolulu four days each week and Kona International Airport (KOA) on Hawai'i Island three days each week.

Hawaiian's request follows a proceeding established as a result of the February agreement between the U.S. Government and the Government of Japan which increases the number daily flights for U.S. airlines to operate between Haneda and the United States from four to six.

"Hawaiian Airlines was among the first three U.S. airlines granted route authority from Haneda in 2010, and our Honolulu service has been by far the most successful of the original services," noted Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. 

"We have more than held our own against much larger competitors. Allowing us to keep our authority for daily Haneda-Honolulu flights and to supplement them with new flights to Kona and to Honolulu will signal that the U.S. DOT values competition from smaller, independent carriers against the mega-carriers advantaged by mergers and antitrust immunized alliance agreements," said Dunkerley.

Hawaiian Airlines' application notes that Hawaiian has flown more passengers out of Haneda than any other U.S. carriers.  Its service to Honolulu has added $941 million to the U.S. GDP, generated $564 million in direct spending and led to the creation of 2,337 new jobs. 

Hawaiian asserts in its application that a second daily flight serving both Honolulu and Kona will create additional public benefits and satisfy a market that has pent-up demand for nonstop service. Kona is the third-largest airport without nonstop service to Tokyo, with more point-of-sale Japanese passengers than 11 other U.S. destinations which already enjoy nonstop service from Japan's most populous city.  Hawaiian has requested a daytime slot for the Honolulu/Kona service, but has asked for consideration of a night-time slot as a second choice.

Hawaiian Airlines plans to serve these routes with its A330 aircraft, featuring 18 lie-flat seats in the Business/First cabin, 68 seats in its Extra Comfort class of service and 192 seats in the main cabin. Flight schedules for the daytime slots are as follows.

As it has with past applications, Hawaiian Airlines will be seeking petition signatures and letters of support for the route from all communities of Hawai'i. Information is available at action.hawaiianair.com.

About Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian® has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past 12 years (2004-2015) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the highest of all domestic airlines serving Hawai'i.

Now in its 87th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawai'i'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 non-stop service to Hawai'i from more U.S. gateway cities (11) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides approximately 160 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, with a total of more than 200 daily flights system-wide.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow updates on Twitter about Hawaiian (@HawaiianAir) and its special fare offers (@HawaiianFares), and become a fan on its Facebook page (Hawaiian Airlines).

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SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines

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