Expanding Service to Smaller Airports with New Island Air Partnership
Summer Interisland Schedule Up by 17 Percent – 184,000 Seats
HONOLULU -- Hawaiian Airlines is changing its schedule and adding interisland service to better meet kama‘aina needs, highlighted by new daily roundtrip flights for the busy Honolulu-Hilo afternoon and Honolulu-Maui morning routes.
“Hilo and Maui residents have been calling for more service during these hours and we're going to provide it,” said Joshua Gotbaum, Trustee of Hawaiian Airlines.
The new flights take effect August 1, with each adding 1,722 seats per week – nearly 90,000 seats a year – during high-demand travel times to Hilo and Maui. The timing of the flights was adjusted to be especially helpful to kama‘aina commuters.
Beginning today, Hawaiian Airlines is also increasing its interisland capacity this summer by 17 percent – an additional 184,000 seats. Hawaiian will fly a daily average of 115 flights during the weekdays and 123 flights on the weekends.
Said Gotbaum, “Hawaiian has the most modern jet fleet in the islands. We can't increase our fleet, but we can fly it as much as possible and to places where travelers need it the most.”
Also beginning August 1, Hawaiian is expanding its interisland service offerings through a new partnership with the newly independent Island Air. Under the new code share arrangement, Hawaiian customers will soon be able to book on HawaiianAir.com and travel on Island Air flights to the smaller airports on Molokai, Lanai, and the West Maui resort of Kapalua.
Hawaiian will substitute its current once-a-day service to Lanai and Molokai with Island Air's seven flights and eight flights per day, respectively. Customers booking their flights to these destinations through Hawaiian will retain full HawaiianMiles frequent flyer program benefits and enjoy the convenience of online booking at HawaiianAir.com.
Hawaiian's Hele On (Hurry Up) Web Check-In will also be available for multi-leg flights involving Island Air as long as the originating departure is on Hawaiian.
Neil Takekawa, president and CEO for Island Air, commented, “We're delighted that we can now add Hawaiian Airlines as a new partner in meeting the air travel needs of Hawaii. Our 37-seat de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft are better suited to serve smaller airports and resort communities with greater frequency than their jets. It makes sense for us to work together where our operations complement each other and benefit travelers in Hawaii.”
Code sharing allows Hawaiian to sell seats on Island Air by attaching its “HA” code to these flights in worldwide computer reservations systems.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines, the nation's number one on-time carrier, is recognized as one of the best airlines in America. Business travelers recently surveyed byCondé Nast Traveler rated Hawaiian Airlines as having the best in-flight service and meals of any U.S. carrier. Hawaiian was recently ranked fourth best in the nation overall by Travel + Leisure.
Celebrating its 75th year of continuous service, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's largest and longest-serving airline, and the second largest provider of passenger air service between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more mainland U.S. gateways
than any other airline. Hawaiian also provides approximately 100 daily jet flights among the Hawaiian Islands, as well as service to Sydney, American Samoa and Tahiti.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (AMEX and PCX: HA). Since the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee on May 16, 2003, Hawaiian Holdings has had no involvement in the management of Hawaiian Airlines and has had limited access to information concerning the airline.
Additional information on Hawaiian Airlines is available at www.HawaiianAir.com.
About Island Air
Island Air is Hawaii's leading commuter carrier, offering approximately 50 daily flights to Molokai, Lanai, Kapalua, Kahului, and Kona. Island Air currently operates a fleet of five 37-seat de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft, which have earned a solid reputation for outstanding reliability and safety. For more information, visit www.islandair.com.