Hawaiian Flies A330 to Manila

November 7, 2012

Hawaiian A330-200 departing Las Vegas to Honolulu. The airline already connects Manila-Las Vegas via Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii - Hawaiian Airlines a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings (Nasdaq: HA), intensify its market hold on Manila  as it added capacity to its Honolulu-Manila service until 31 March 2013.

The airline which declared Manila its flagship route will deploy one of its newest and largest aircraft, the Airbus A330-200, to the Philippine capital aimed at improving its product against competition.

Manila remains the airlines goldmine after registering a positive growth rate since 2008 while its other route network suffered decline. Already, it has gain headway in traffic against inferior product offered by Philippine Airlines that prompted the latter to matched generous baggage allowance given by Hawaiian.

The transition from the 264-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to the 294-seat A330 will add more than 2,500 new seats to the route during the winter travel period as it continue to expand the market, taking advantage of its competitors inability to upgrade its product due to FAA restrictions.

Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Mark Dunkerley remarked that its flight to Manila is always full of Filipino passengers accounting almost 80% of its load. “The deep cultural and historic bond between the Philippines and Hawaii is another major reason for travelers to make more frequent trips." he quipped.

Durkerkley also said that Hawaiian Airlines is reporting a steady growth of Philippine passenger traffic with bookings mostly from US West Coast routes. It also reported increased bookings to Las Vegas after PAL announced termination of service effective January 15, 2013.

Hawaiian flies to Manila four times a week, departing Honolulu on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and returning the following day.

Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii’s largest and longest-serving airline, and the second-largest provider of passenger air service between the U.S. Mainland and Hawaii. It also flies to Australia, American Samoa and Tahiti.