Hawaiian Airlines is set to restart Tokyo flights out of Kona. The airline will resume Tokyo Haneda service with three flights from Oct. 29. through Nov. 4. It will then operate regular weekly service on Nov. 22 before returning to a three-times-weekly schedule in March 2024. “We’re very pleased to bring back our nonstop to Tokyo to meet increasing demand,” said Takaya Shishido, Japan country director at Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian currently offers daily Tokyo flights from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and Osaka plus three-times-weekly service between Honolulu and Fukuoka. The airline first launched Haneda-Kona flights in 2016. Hawaiian operates its Japan routes on Airbus A330 aircraft.  

A new air link offering direct Cook Islands flights from the US has begun. Hawaiian Airlines has launched weekly flights to Rarotonga in the South Pacific. Weekend flights will be served by Airbus A321neo aircraft. It is the only current nonstop air link from the US. Hawaiian previously operated Cook Islands flights for several years until 1993. More recently, Air New Zealand flew to Rarotonga from Los Angeles until the pandemic shutdown. "Our Honolulu-Rarotonga flight bridges Hawaii with another South Pacific neighbor connecting two archipelagos that share Polynesian roots," the airline said.  

Hawaiian Airlines is launching direct Cook Islands flights next summer. Weekly flights start in May 2023 between Honolulu and Rarotonga. It is seen as a major boost for the Cook Islands ‘tourism recovery, says Prime Minister Mark Brown. “Our partnership with Hawaiian will put us in good stead for 2023 and beyond.” Flights will go on sale on December 7. The new Cook Islands flights have-been welcomed by local resorts and tour agencies.