HONOLULU, July 31, 1997 -- Hawaiian Airlines (ASE and PE: HA) announced today that it has entered into a marketing alliance with Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAI.B and CAI.A) and Continental Micronesia that will promote visitor travel to the neighbor islands in Hawaii and make Hawaiian Airlines the primary interisland carrier for the two international airlines.
Under the new alliance, which takes effect on October 1, Continental and Continental Micronesia will market connections throughout Hawaii on Hawaiian's interisland flights. Continental and Continental Micronesia passengers will be able to check themselves and their luggage once at their point of origin through to their destination in Hawaii as well as earn and redeem Continental One-Pass frequent flyer miles on Hawaiian Airlines interisland flights.
"We're proud to add Continental to our network of marketing partners," said Paul J. Casey, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines. "This move aligns Hawaii's flagship airline with the nation's fifth largest airline, which has established itself with Continental Micronesia as a major presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
"This represents an important step in our strategy to broaden Hawaiian's customer base through partnerships with major international carriers. It comes with little cost to the company, and significantly expands our reach into domestic and international markets," he said.
The pact with Continental comes on the heels of the July 15 announcement that Hawaiian Airlines will expand its operating and marketing partnership with American Airlines. Hawaiian also has an existing marketing alliance with Northwest Airlines.
Continental operates two flights a day from the U.S. mainland to Honolulu from Los Angeles and San Francisco. On August 1, Continental will begin daily nonstop service to Honolulu from Houston.
Continental Micronesia flies daily to Honolulu from Tokyo and Guam. "With this agreement, our customers will enjoy the convenience of checking in at their point of departure right through to their destination in the Hawaiian Islands," said Greg Brenneman, president and chief operating officer of Continental Airlines.
Continental now offers more than 2,100 jet and Express departures daily to 133 domestic and 62 international destinations. Its major hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland are strategically positioned for transcontinental travel and service to Latin America and Europe.
In addition to the new pact with Continental, Hawaiian has entered into code share marketing agreements with American and Northwest airlines that streamline passenger travel through to the Hawaiian island of their choice and award frequent flyer mileage credit for the entire trip.
Founded in Honolulu 67 years ago, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's longest-serving and largest airline and the nation's 12th largest carrier. Hawaiian's fleet of 13 DC9s provides award-winning service on more than 150 jet flights daily among the islands of Hawaii. Hawaiian also operates 12 widebody jet flights a day between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Its South Pacific service links Honolulu with American Samoa and Tahiti.