Hawaiian Airlines Upgrades Capacity on Auckland-Honolulu Flights

Strong demand from travellers in New Zealand has convinced Hawaiian Airlines to launch new Auckland – Honolulu flights with its flagship Airbus A330-200 aircraft, instead of the smaller Boeing 767-300ERs it was planning to use.

The new flights, which will operate three times weekly from 14 March 2013, have taken off quickly in the New Zealand market, with strong bookings to both Hawaii and the US mainland.

Hawaiian’s newest and largest aircraft type, the Airbus A330 seats 294 passengers in a two class cabin – 18 in Business Class and 276 in Economy Class. This is 30 more passengers than the Boeing 767.

The Airbus also offers a more spacious interior and in-seat video entertainment for every passenger, featuring late-release movies, television programmes, interactive games, Hawaiian-themed entertainment and a range of audio channels.

“It was always our intention to step up to larger aircraft once our services were established and the market was supporting us,” said Peter Ingram, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Hawaiian Airlines. “We are delighted that six months ahead of our first flight from Auckland ticket sales already are strong enough to justify upgrading to the Airbus A330, which offers 11% more seats than the Boeing 767 and a superior inflight experience.”

Based on Hawaiian’s schedule of three flights per week from Auckland, the Airbus A330s will provide 4,680 additional seats in a full year – the equivalent of almost 18 extra Boeing 767 flights.

Hawaiian Airlines flight HA 446 will depart Auckland at 23:55 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, cross the international dateline and arrive in Honolulu at 09:45 the same day.

The return flight to New Zealand, HA 445, will depart Honolulu at 13:45 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, cross the international dateline and land in Auckland at 21:55 the following day.

The decision to upgrade to the Airbus 330 coincides with a special fare sale from Auckland to Hawaii and the US mainland. Return fares from Auckland to Honolulu, including taxes and surcharges, are priced from NZ$1117 Economy Class and NZ$3317 Business Class, while fares to the neighbour islands of Maui, Kauai or Hawaii Island start at NZ$1223 for Economy Class and NZ$3423 for Business Class.

Hawaiian also is offering Economy Class fares to 11 US mainland cities - Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, San Diego and Phoenix from NZ$1535 and Business Class from NZ$4135, and New York City from NZ$1735 in Economy Class and NZ$4435 in Business Class.

These are low season fares, available for departures between 14 March and 18 April, and again from 6 May – 11 July and from 29-31 July. The special fares are available for sale until 12 October, 2012. Seats are limited at these prices. Terms and conditions apply.

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