Hawaiian Says G'day to Brisbane, Adding Second Australian Gateway

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Jun 19, 2012, 03:00 ET

HONOLULU, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Airlines will begin offering nonstop flights between Honolulu and Brisbane, Australia, three times weekly starting Tuesday, November 27, 2012, becoming the only US carrier to operate service to Brisbane.

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Adding Brisbane service will increase Hawaiian's weekly flights between Honolulu and Australia to 10, with daily services already operating to Australia's largest city, Sydney.

President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said Brisbane would serve not only as the airline's second gateway to Australia but also as an important new source of tourism to Hawai'i.

"Australians love Hawai'i as a holiday destination, and visitor numbers have grown steadily since Hawaiian inaugurated service on the Sydney-Honolulu route in 2004," Dunkerley said. "That service reawakened Australian awareness and interest in Hawai'i, which had been under-served for over a decade.

"Competitors followed us and now, eight years later, Hawai'i is one of the most popular and fastest growing international holiday destinations for travelers from Australia," he said. "The Brisbane gateway will provide much easier access to Hawai'i for residents of the State of Queensland, and more convenient connections for travelers from a number of other Australian states."

Hawaiian's new Brisbane service will add more than 40,000 seats annually between Australia and Hawai'i, and increase its total seat numbers from Australia by 38 percent.

Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA), commented, "Hawaiian's starting of service between Brisbane and Honolulu is great news for our tourism economy, as this new route will provide better connectivity for Australians to visit the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai'i continues to be a popular destination in Australia with arrivals for first quarter 2012 increasing 55 percent over last year. We anticipate this flight to contribute to this continual growth and expansion, and wish Hawaiian success on this new route."

The HTA estimates that Hawaiian's Brisbane-Honolulu service will generate $83 million in visitor expenditures and $9 million in tax revenue annually for Hawai'i.

Centrally located on Australia's east coast, Brisbane is the capital city of the State of Queensland, home of the world-famous Great Barrier Reef, world heritage listed rainforests, iconic outback locations and the renowned leisure regions of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Brisbane also is a key hub for onward travel throughout Australia, and Hawaiian's new flights will be timed to connect with same-day services throughout Queensland and to other states, through an interline partnership with domestic carrier Virgin Australia.

Ticket sales for the new service will commence at a later date to be announced.

Hawaiian Airlines flight HA 443, will depart Honolulu at 10:20 a.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, cross the international dateline and land in Brisbane at 4:00 p.m. the following day, in time for onward connections to destinations throughout Australia. Journey time is approximately nine hours.

The return service, flight HA 444, will depart Brisbane at 6:35 p.m. every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, cross the international dateline and arrive in Honolulu at 8:05 a.m. the same day, providing not only an early arrival into Honolulu, but the ability for passengers to connect with onward Hawaiian Airlines flights to Maui, Kaua'i and Hawai'i Island.

Hawaiian's Brisbane flights will be operated with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, seating 262 passengers in a two-class cabin – 18 in Business Class and 244 in Economy Class.

About Hawaiian Airlines

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 as the top domestic airline serving Hawai'i.

Now in its 83rd 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 nonstop service to Hawai'i from more U.S. gateway cities (11) than any other airline, along with service to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides approximately 170 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands.

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).

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines