Hawaiian Airlines adds Osaka to its Asia routes

Hawaiian Airlines pushed its growth envelope in recent days when it announced new daily nonstops between Honolulu and Osaka, Japan. The new route is the airline's third new Asian destination in recent months. Hawaiian's inaugural flight from Honolulu International Airport to Osaka's Kansai International Airport is scheduled for July 12. 2011.

"The response to our new Haneda service has been stronger than expected," stated Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO, "and we have accelerated our plans to offer our authentic Hawaii travel experience to Osaka, Japan's second most populous region. Our new service will help meet strong travel demand from Osaka, and provide a welcome boost to Hawaiian tourism."

Osaka customers will experience a customized presentation of Hawaiian Airline's award-winning "Hawaii Starts Here" inflight service program that celebrates Hawaii's culture, people, and natural beauty, featuring new pan-Asian cuisine, Japanese entertainment options and special onboard products, the airline says.

The new Osaka flights will add approximately 100,000 new air seats annually to Hawaii from Japan, the state's second-largest market for visitors. In addition, the Osaka run is expected to strengthen Hawaiian Airline's ability to attract customers from across Asia. Same-day ground connections are also available to several major cities in Japan. Boasting a population of approximately three million, Osaka, is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and one of Japan's major economic and commercial centers.

Osaka is the largest segment of the Keihanshin Area, which also includes Kyoto and Kobe, and represents the second-largest area in Japan by population with more than 18 million residents. This is the third Asian city added by Hawaiian in recent months. Seoul was added in January 2011 and Tokyo in November 2010.

Hawaiian Airlines will initially operate the new Honolulu-Osaka flights with its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft seating up to 264 passengers, before introducing its new and larger 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft onto the route. Hawaiian is on schedule to welcome two new A330s to the fleet this year, in the second and fourth quarters, along with three more A330s in 2012.