MANY HAPPY RETURNS – HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

Hawaiian Airlines this week celebrates three years of nonstop flights between Sydney and Honolulu – and a timely nomination as a finalist in this year’s National Travel Industry Awards in the category of Best International Online Airline.

Since launching Sydney services in May, 2004, the airline has been instrumental in reinventing Hawaii as a major holiday destination for Australians, with visitor numbers soaring as a result of strong travel industry support for Hawaiian’s flights.

As well, following a wide-ranging interline deal with Australian domestic carrier Virgin Blue, Hawaiian now offers a range of air fares from 16 destinations around Australia to connect with three weekly Sydney-Honolulu flights. This is generating very strong bookings.

“It is very satisfying to achieve continued growth in a market as competitive as Australia,” said Scott Cammell, Hawaiian’s Sales and Marketing Manager Australia.

“It is even more satisfying to be nominated by the Australian travel industry in its national awards, which indicates that we have made a positive impression in a market served by many airlines, most of them significantly larger than we are.”

Mr Cammell said Hawaiian’s introduction of nonstop flights to Honolulu, and the associated promotion of the destination by the airline and the travel industry, had inspired significant interest in Hawaii, not only from repeat travellers but from a new generation of first time visitors.

Increasingly, this is being supported by the strengthening Australian dollar, which has risen from 77 US cents when services began in May 2004 to the low eighties in the first quarter of 2007.

“We started in this market by building awareness of Honolulu and the gateway island of Oahu,” said Mr Cammell. “Then we expanded our offerings to include the neighbour islands of Kauai, Maui and The Big Island of Hawaii.

“We’re now entering yet another phase of growth, as travellers to the US mainland consider stopover visits in Hawaii, both on the way to the west coast and on the way home.

“And through relationships with specialist partners like Billabong and Hawaii Tourism Oceania, we are generating interest in Hawaii not only as a general holiday destination, but as a location for those with special interests such as surfing.”

Hawaiian Airlines offers three weekly nonstop flights from Sydney to Honolulu, with onward connections to Hawaii’s neighbour islands, and to nine destinations on the US mainland.

The airline’s evening departures from Sydney, and its strong relationship with Virgin Blue, enable travellers from throughout Australia to make same-day flight connections. Hawaiian is also a participating partner in the Virgin Blue loyalty programme Velocity.

Hawaiian’s trans-Pacific flights are operated with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, departing Sydney at 9.00pm every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, crossing the international dateline and arriving in Honolulu at 10.35am the same day – a flight time of nine hours and 35 minutes.

For more information about Hawaiian Airlines, visit www.hawaiianairlines.com.au.

For more information about the destination of Hawaii, visit www.hawaiitourism.com.au

A report by The Mole