Hawaiian, Korean to Team Up on Asia Service

HONOLULU, May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- - Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: HA), and Korean Airlines today announced a newly-expanded code-sharing agreement that will allow Hawaiian to offer its customers nonstop service between Hawaii and Korea, as well as connecting service on flights within Korea and five other destinations in Asia.

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The carriers plan to begin expanded code-sharing operations June 15, 2009, with Hawaiian placing its "HA" booking code on flights operated by Korean between Incheon, South Korea and Honolulu, and on flights between Incheon and Busan in Korea as well as points in Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian, said, "This new agreement is all part of increasing Hawaiian's presence in Asia, expanding our relationship with Korean Airlines, and could lead to complementary service by Hawaiian in the future.

"With its recent addition to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, we expect to see a letting of significant pent-up demand in South Korea for travel to the U.S. and Hawaii in particular. Incheon is the largest air travel hub in Northeast Asia, so in combination with our own nonstop service to Manila, Hawaiian will soon be able to offer our customers convenient gateways to all of Asia.

"In addition, with more than two million ethnic Koreans in the U.S. and significant Korean communities in all of the cities we serve, we think this new service will have great appeal to travelers in our markets," Dunkerley said.

Hawaiian and Korean have jointly applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authorization to begin code-share operations next month. The two carriers began their code sharing relationship in 2007, which allowed Korean to put its "KE" booking code on Hawaiian's flights among the islands of Hawaii and between Hawaii and the mainland U.S.

About Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian is the nation's highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2008 in the 19th annual Airline Quality Rating study. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past five years (2004-2008) and has been an industry leader in fewest misplaced bags during that same period (#1 from 2005-2007, #2 in 2008) 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 Hawaii.

Now in its 80th year of continuous service in Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 160 daily jet flights within the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.

About Korean Airlines

In 2008, Business Traveler magazine honored Korean Air as having the "Best Transpacific Business Class" and ranked it "The Best Airline in Asia"; World Traveler magazine rated it has having the world's best inflight service; readers of Travel & Leisure magazine said it is one of the world's top 10 international airlines, and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted it has having one of the world's top five business classes.

Korean Air, with a fleet of 124 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 passenger flights - 20 per day to 116 cities in 39 countries. It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance - partnering Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM and three Associates to provide customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at www.koreanair.com.

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.
05/11/2009
CONTACT: Keoni Wagner of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., +1-808-838-6778,
Keoni.Wagner@hawaiianair.com
Web Site: http://www.HawaiianAirlines.com
http://www.koreanair.com
(HA)