HONOLULU – January 12, 2011 - With today’s launch of nonstop service between Honolulu and Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, Hawaiian Airlines has introduced a customized “Hawaii-style” inflight experience designed to please Korean travelers.
In the tradition of Hawaiian’s highly rated inflight hospitality, customers will be treated to a service presentation celebrating the culture, people, and natural beauty of Hawaii, while enjoying new cuisine, entertainment options, and special onboard products tailored for the Korean traveler.
Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian’s vice president of product development, noted, “Our primary objective is to provide the very best in high-quality service to our new customers from Korea, while sharing with them the authenticity of the Hawaiian Airlines inflight experience that has made us a favorite of travelers in all our destinations.”
In keeping with its record of excellence that has made Hawaiian the highest-rated U.S. carrier for service quality and reliability, Hawaiian’s commitment to customer service for its Incheon route begins at the airport ticket counter and continues all the way through to disembarking the aircraft and picking up luggage, a carefully planned process that is repeated on the return flight.
In preparation for the new flights, Hawaiian’s flight attendants and airport customer service personnel have undergone extensive training to gain a better understanding about the traditions of Korean culture and associated service expectations. This included research conducted by Hawaiian’s training personnel in South Korea in consultation with travel professionals and an aviation services academy.
New Inflight Dining Experience
Hawaiian’s inflight dining experience for Business and Economy Class customers is completely new, designed by Executive Chef Chai Chaowasaree, owner of two acclaimed restaurants in Honolulu, host of a weekly cooking TV show in Hawaii, and author of
The Island Bistro Cookbook.
Chef Chai is bringing a fresh, pan-Asian style of cuisine to Hawaiian’s flights that uses the foods and fresh ingredients of Hawaii to create his dishes. His meals are paired with wines selected by Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya, a recognized expert at pairing wines with Pacific Rim cuisine.
Business Class customers enjoy the full comforts of Hawaiian’s premium onboard meal service throughout the flights, including a five-course dinner service featuring selections such as
Hawaiian Butternut Squash and Lobster Bisque with Crispy Seafood Dumpling, and Grilled Hawaiian-Style Beef Tenderloin with Merlot Demiglace.
A special dining feature on the new Incheon flights is a private label red wine exclusive to Hawaiian, Vita Nova Pikake. Another highlight is a special “Waikiki High Tea” with a blossoming tea “flower” that is served an hour before landing on the return flight to Incheon.
Enhancing the comfort of the Business Class experience is a high-quality Hawaiian-style quilt provided to customers, making it easier for them to rest during the flight.
Economy Class customers enjoy two meal services designed by Chef Chai and presented with silverware and glassware for beverages.
An example of the delicious new entrées is the Hawaiian-Style Barbecue Chicken with Mango and Berry Salsa over Steamed Rice. Adults also have the option to enjoy complementary beer and wine with each meal in Economy Class. Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) is, of course, available with all meal services.
New Entertainment Options
Hawaiian’s inflight entertainment on the new route caters to the Korean traveler, while showcasing Hawaii’s allure and natural beauty.
Hana Hou!, Hawaiian’s award-winning inflight magazine, is offered in the Korean language, making Hawaiian the only non-Korean carrier currently extending that courtesy to its Korean customers.
HawaiianSkies
, the airline’s exclusive inflight video program, is also presented in Korean, along with episodes of a new Korean-language Hawaii lifestyle TV show to debut in January.
Both Korean-made and English-made movies with Korean language voiceovers and English subtitles are shown inflight, and also included on the menu of movie, TV and music video options on Hawaiian’s digEplayer personal entertainment systems available in Business Class.
A special video feature that Hawaiian is providing to Korean customers on their return flight home from Honolulu to Incheon are current, day-of-departure TV news broadcasts by SBS, as well as other high quality daily programming provided by KBFD, the Honolulu-based Korean-language TV station. Customers are able to catch up on the news in South Korea as well as some of their favorite programs.
Hawaiian’s audio channels on the new route include popular Korean musical artists, along with performances of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music by Hawaii artists with song introductions narrated in Korean language.
Flight Information
Flight #459 departs Honolulu International Airport four days weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 1:20 p.m. and arrives at Incheon International Airport at 8:05 p.m. the following day. Return Flight #460 departs Incheon on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 10:00 p.m. and arrives in Honolulu at 11:00 a.m. the same day. (South Korea is 19 hours ahead of Honolulu and the flight crosses the International Dateline.)
Tickets for the Incheon flights can be purchased online via Hawaiian’s Korean-language website at
www.HawaiianAirlines.co.kr, its English-language website at www.HawaiianAirlines.com, or by calling toll-free in the U.S. through its reservations center at 1-800-367-5320 or through its sales office in South Korea at 82-2-775-5552 Hawaiian will initially serve the Incheon route using its wide-body, twin-aisle Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, which comfortably seats up to 264 passengers with 18 in Business Class and 246 in Economy Class. Hawaiian plans to introduce its new and larger 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft onto the route at alater date.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian is the nation’s highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2009 in the 20
th annual Airline Quality Rating study, having earned that distinction in three of the past four years. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past six years (2004-2009) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the top domestic airline offering flights to Hawaii.
Now in its 82nd year of continuous service for 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 South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 150 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at www.HawaiianAirlines.com.