Hawaii’s recovering tourism industry is getting a boost with new flights from its top visitor market.
Alaska Airlines, the third-largest provider of air seats to Hawaii from the U.S. West, initiated nonstop daily service Tuesday to Honolulu from the California cities of Oakland and San Jose.
The start of Alaska’s service came on the same day that Allegiant Air announced it would enter the Hawaii market in June with flights three days a week between Las Vegas and Honolulu, and once a week between Fresno, Calif., and Honolulu.
The additional flights are good news for the state, which projects it will draw 3.1 million visitors to Hawaii this year from the U.S. West region, up 2.9 percent from a year ago.
Seattle-based Alaska, which announced in November it would be offering the Oakland and San Jose service to Honolulu, said Hawaii now represents 20 percent of its schedule. Alaska has 22 daily flights to Hawaii from eight cities on the mainland.
Alaska has 35 flights a week from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, Calif., to Hawaii. Alaska already was flying to Kauai, Maui and Kona from Oakland and San Jose.
"Honolulu is the vibrant epicenter of Hawaii, with everything from historic landmarks, treasured monuments, a flourishing arts and culture scene and world-class beaches," said Joe Sprague, Alaska’s vice president of marketing.
Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO Mike McCartney estimates the new Alaska Air routes will contribute up to $118 million in visitor spending in the state and $12.8 million in tax revenue annually. He said the Allegiant flights are estimated to generate about $29.8 million in visitor spending and $3.25 million in tax revenue.
Before Allegiant’s announcement, HTA was projecting total airline seat capacity to Hawaii to increase 7.7 percent this year to 9.99 million from 9.28 million in 2011, and second-quarter capacity to rise 5.8 percent to 2.44 million from 2.30 million in the same period a year ago. From the U.S. West the HTA forecast a 4.7 percent increase in airline seat capacity to 6.11 million this year from 5.83 million in 2011, and second-quarter capacity to rise 2.8 percent to 1.53 million from 1.49 million.
Alaska flies to Hawaii from Anchorage, Alaska, and seven West Coast cities: Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento; Seattle and Bellingham, Wash.; and Portland, Ore. The airline uses Boeing 737-800s that seat 157 passengers.
Flights from Oakland to Honolulu leave at 9:20 a.m. and arrive at 11:45 a.m. The return leg leaves Honolulu at 2:05 p.m. and arrives at 10:05 p.m. Service from San Jose to Honolulu leaves at 9:50 a.m. and arrives at 12:15 p.m., and the return flight leaves Honolulu at 12:45 p.m. and arrives in San Jose at 8:45 p.m.
Alaska spokesman Paul McElroy would not say whether Alaska was planning any more mainland flights to Hawaii.
"We don’t share details about where we intend to fly until we’re ready to announce the new service," he said.
Allegiant, which said it plans to expand service to Hawaii later this year, will begin its Las Vegas-Honolulu flight on June 29 and its Fresno-Honolulu route on June 30. Allegiant is using Boeing 757-200 aircraft that seat 223 passengers.
"Allegiant’s entrance into Hawaii will bring attention to our market as we head into the summer booking period," McCartney said. "It will also help to open doors to many new travelers by providing low-cost travel package options that include air, hotel, rental car and attractions. The HTA anticipates that Allegiant’s announcement will also help to stimulate airfare repositioning and attract incremental visitors and visitor spending for the Hawaiian Islands. We look forward to their continued growth here."
Alaska, which began service to Hawaii in 2009, ranks third in air seats from the U.S. West with 103,463 a month, according to HTA data for May. The top two airlines are United Continental with 135,086 and Hawaiian with 117,237.
Overall, Alaska ranks fourth for all air seats — both domestic and international — into Hawaii with 103,463 per month, HTA said. The top three are United Continental with 188,905, Hawaiian with 161,298 and Delta with 114,276.
