Hawaiian Airlines to Launch Sendai Flights

Hawaiian Airlines will add its fifth Japan gateway in June with the launch of three times a week flights to Sendai, Japan.

The new flights - starting 25 June, pending Japan government approval - will be the first scheduled service between Sendai and Hawaii since another carrier left the market in 2004, and among the first new services to be introduced at Sendai Airport since it was closed for more than a month in 2011 due to damage caused by the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

"We are delighted to be bringing the aloha of our island home to a region being rebuilt after massive devastation two years ago," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and chief executive officer. "Hawaii is a place for relaxation, healing and rejuvenation, and we look forward to making visitors from Tohoku feel as though they are in Hawai'i from the moment they board our flights."

Hawaiian's new Sendai service will connect with and complement its existing service to Sapporo, operating nonstop from Honolulu to Sendai, with one-stop service returning to Honolulu via Sapporo.

"We have been interested in providing service to Honolulu from Sendai for some time. The city's airport draws travelers from throughout the Tohoku region, and its peak travel periods complement those of Sapporo to the north. Our new service will take advantage of these fluctuations by offering each market the majority of available seats when local demand for travel to Hawai'i is highest. This allows us to make the most efficient use of our fleet," Dunkerley said.

Hawaiian's Flight HA 441 will depart Honolulu International Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 12:15, cross the international dateline, and arrive at Sendai Airport at 16:00 the following day.

The return Flight HA 442 will then continue to Sapporo's New Chitose Airport at 17:55 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving at New Chitose at 19:10 before departing to Honolulu at 21:10, crossing the international dateline, and arriving in Honolulu at 09:50 the same day.

Hawaiian will operate the Honolulu-Sendai-Sapporo flights using its fleet of roomy wide-body, twin-aisle Boeing 767-300ER aircraft that seat up to 264 passengers.