Hawaiian Air Readies International Push, Awaits DOT Approval
July 02 2010 - 11:24AM
Dow Jones News
The head of Hawaiian Airlines said a new Tokyo service is set to
start on Oct. 31 despite the lack of formal U.S. government
approval.
Hawaiian, a unit of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (HA), was the
surprise winner of one of four coveted slots to start services from
the U.S. to Haneda. Tokyo's downtown airport is a favorite with
business travelers and will reopen to international flights when a
new runway opens in October.
Japan is the largest overseas market for Hawaiian tourism, and
the airline's planned Honolulu-Haneda service is part of an
international expansion by the airline with a new fleet of Airbus
A330s.
"It's a little curious," Hawaiian President and Chief Executive
Mark Dunkerley said of the limbo left by waiting for the Department
of Transportation to formalize its tentative approval.
Dunkerley said final approval for the Haneda service had been
expected before an annual industry meeting in June that allocates
airport takeoff and landing slot times.
DOT said a decision is expected "shortly." One wild card is
whether United Airlines' parent UAL Corp. (UAUA) and Continental
Airlines Inc. (CAL) appeal after missing out on Haneda rights.
Delta Air Lines. (DAL) and AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines
picked up the other three slots.
Hawaiian Airlines has seen the number of inbound tourists rise
for six straight months, and the airline suffered less during the
recession than did U.S. peers hobbled by vanishing business
traffic.
"They're looking fine," Dunkerley said of bookings, with the
airline also benefiting from a near-truce in the inter-island
market.
The short hops between Hawaiian islands have produced some of
the most ferocious competition in the industry, with multiple
operators coming and going amid ruinous price wars.
Dunkerley says there has been six to eight months of "capacity
stability", and he is sanguine about the prospect of its
market-leading position on flights from the U.S. west coast being
challenged later this year by the arrival of low-cost specialist
Allegiant Air.
Allegiant acquired six Boeing Co. (BA) 757s that it plans to fly
from the west coast, most likely from smaller cities not currently
served.
Dunkerley said Hawaiian is used to competition on the west coast
routes, and some analysts believe Allegiant's entry could even help
the carrier by providing it with passengers for its inter-island
services.
Carrying other airlines' passengers between islands when they
arrive is one reason Hawaiian hasn't joined one of the global
alliances, though Dunkerley said it has been approached in some
form by all three.
The "third leg" of Hawaiian's strategy alongside the U.S.
mainland and inter-island markets is its international
expansion.
Tokyo will be its fifth overseas destination, joining Sydney,
Manila, Tahiti and American Samoa, and flights to Seoul will start
in January.
The international expansion will be led by the A330s, though the
two that have arrived already are being used on services to Los
Angeles and Las Vegas. It plans to receive eight more through 2014
and also has six A350s on order for delivery from 2017.
-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135;
doug.cameron@dowjones.com
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