After expanding its presence in the Australian market during the past year, Hawaiian Airlines is now taking the next step in its strategic growth plan in the region by revealing plans to open flights to New Zealand with new non-stop service between Honolulu and Auckland. The route will operate three times weekly with a 264-seat (18 Business Class and 246 Economy) Boeing 767-300ER from March 13, 2013 and will see the airline compete directly with Air New Zealand.
At times during the 1980s and 1990s there were sometimes six different airlines operating scheduled flights on this route but since May 2000 when Air Pacific ended its own services, Air New Zealand has been the only provider of non-stop links. The national carrier entered the market in October 1990 and in the mid-1990s had offered more than daily services. However, it now has just two to four rotations per week depending upon the time of year. In 2011, an estimated 27,000 O&D passengers flew between Honolulu and Auckland, around 12 per cent making use of indirect flight routings, an 8.4 per cent increase in traffic compared to the previous year.
"New Zealanders are avid travelers and we believe the introduction of new non-stop flights with our winning brand of service will be welcomed in meeting pent-up demand for a Hawaii vacation," said Mark Dunkerley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Airlines. "At the same time, our new service will offer Hawaii residents easy access to the natural wonders and Maori culture of New Zealand."
The company's market research indicates that Hawaii is an underserved market for New Zealand, as tourism figures show there are currently 30 per cent fewer visitor arrivals coming from New Zealand than in 1999 when more non-stop flights were offered between the two destinations. In addition, New Zealand residents made more than one million trips to the South Pacific and Asia in 2011, according to the carrier. The new flight will add more than 40,000 seats annually between the two destinations.
"Hawaiian Airlines' entry into the New Zealand market is more positive news for Hawaii's tourism economy, with the potential to bring in up to an estimated $50 million in annual visitor expenditures and $5.4 million in tax revenue," said Mike McCartney, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).
According to HTA data, the New Zealand market is a strong source of visitors for Hawaii. In 2011, Hawaii received 20,730 arrivals from New Zealand – an increase of 15.4 per cent compared to 2010 – these were responsible for generating $38 million in visitor expenditures. Year-to-date through May 2012, arrivals from New Zealand have increased by 5.1 per cent year-on-year, says HTA.
Travel officials in New Zealand have also hailed the new service announcement from Hawaiian. "This new service will help not only to grow the attractive Hawaiian market across a number of islands, but also will offer fantastic and conveniently-timed connections to a wide range of great city destinations in the mainland United States and New Zealand," said Glenn Wedlock, General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, Auckland Airport. "The New Zealand travel industry has been calling for more capacity and better connections on this route for some time, so this announcement will be welcomed with open arms."
Auckland will be the eighth new destination that Hawaiian has introduced or announced new service to since November 2010 as a major fleet expansion provides capacity for network growth. Since June 2010 it has taken delivery of nine factory-new Airbus A330-200s and is scheduled to introduce five more in 2013. This has enabled the carrier to launch flights to Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo in Japan; Seoul in South Korea and New York, while links to Sapporo in Japan and Brisbane in Australia will be added on October 30, 2012 and November 27, 2012, respectively.
Alongside its long-haul growth, Hawaiian has also revealed plans to enhance its regional activities and implemented a new fare structure for neighbour island travel that lowers ticket prices across all of its fare classes by between four and 25 per cent. The new rates, says the airline, are designed to stimulate increased kama'aina travel. In addition, the airline's parent company, Hawaiian Holdings, has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire turbo-prop aircraft with the aim of establishing a subsidiary carrier to serve routes not currently in Hawaiian's neighbour island system.
"We are committed to providing safe, frequent and reliable service that allows our residents to travel more easily between all the islands, and we believe the additional capacity and new fares will encourage that," said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.
Over the past year, Hawaiian has increased capacity by 13 per cent in its regional network and created a Maui hub to increase service between the Valley Isle, Kaua'i and Hawai'i Island. “The turboprop subsidiary will allow us to further expand capacity with daily flights to rural areas,” added Peter Ingram. “By offering a greater variety of pricing options across our flight schedule every day we also hope to make it easier for people to take the extra trip they might not have taken if the lower fares weren't available.”
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