In a major inbound tourism boost, Hawaiian Airlines is set to return to Australian skies on December 15 when flights re-commence between Honolulu.
The move will see Hawaiian become the first carrier to hop back on the popular Hawaii-to-Australia route, ahead of Qantas on December 20 and Jetstar next April, and expectations for success are for high, given the traditionally strong market between the destinations.
Hawaiian Airlines’ Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand, Andrew Stanbury, said the mid-December re-start, with five flights per week initially, will mean plenty of one-stop connections from the US mainland as well.
“We are thrilled to reconnect Hawaiʻi and Australia and have been encouraged by the public’s response to Australia’s national vaccination program, enabling the reopening of borders,” he said.
“We are looking forward to safely welcoming our guests back on board to enjoy the authentic hospitality that we know our guests love and have missed.”
Speaking exclusively to Wayfarer and HM, Stanbury said it was the carrier’s intention to return to Brisbane when Queensland’s inbound quarantine restrictions were eased, something that was also the case for the carrier’s other Australasian route, to Auckland, New Zealand.
“Right now, we are taking it one step at a time,” he said. “We are very excited about returning to Sydney, as it has certainly been a long and patient wait.”
Hawaiian recently added several new exciting mainland destinations to the carriers’ United States domestic network, with the launch of flights to Austin in Texas, Orlando in Florida and Ontario in California with the option for Americans to enjoy a stopover in the Hawaiian Islands on the way to Australia.
Stanbury also said it was the airline’s intention to increase the five-times-per-week schedule should demand lift to levels where that was required.
The re-launch comes on the back of Hawai’i Governor David Ige’s announcement last week that the destination would welcome back visitors beginning November 1 now that public health efforts have resulted in among the lowest rates of COVID in the United States.