New Zealand for Hawaiian

After expanding its presence in the Australian market during the past year, Hawaiian Airlines is now taking the next step in its strategic growth in the region by revealing plans to open flights to New Zealand with 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 13 March 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 solo.

Hawaiian says that market research indicates Honolulu is an underserved market for New Zealand, as tourism figures show there are currently 30% fewer visitor arrivals coming from New Zealand than in 1999.  In addition, New Zealand residents made more than one million trips to the South Pacific and Asia in 2011, according to the carrier. 

Auckland will be the eighth new destination that Hawaiian has introduced or announced since November 2010 taking nine A330s over the period with five more to come. www.hawaiianair.com

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