HONOLULU — Capitalizing on continuing strong demand for its service to “Hawai‘i’s ninth island,” Hawaiian Airlines is adding two more weekly flights to its Honolulu-Las Vegas service. The airline is also adding the northern city of Sapporo to its growing
HONOLULU — Capitalizing on continuing strong demand for its service to “Hawai‘i’s ninth island,” Hawaiian Airlines is adding two more weekly flights to its Honolulu-Las Vegas service. The airline is also adding the northern city of Sapporo to its growing network of destinations in Japan.
Starting Aug. 21, Hawaiian will increase service from three to five days weekly from the Honolulu International Airport, and arrive at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. This makes a total of 19 round-trip flights the carrier will fly there per week. Travelers will be able to choose a morning, mid-day or evening time for departure and arrival.
Hawaiian also plans to begin service between Honolulu and New Chitose Airport on the island of Hokkaido three times per week starting in November, pending approval of Japan’s government.
Sapporo will be the fourth Japanese destination that Hawaiian has introduced recently to its route network, following the launches of service to Tokyo in November 2010, Osaka in July 2011 and Fukuoka in April 2012. It will be the airline’s sixth new destination in two years, including the launch of service to Seoul, South Korea in January 2011 and the upcoming June 4 inauguration of service to New York City.
Sapporo is Japan’s fifth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million. As the capital city of Hokkaido, Sapporo is known for its ski resorts and world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival, an annual event showcasing snow and ice sculptures.
Hawaiian’s Sapporo flights will add approximately 41,000 new air seats annually to Hawai‘i from Japan, and restore nonstop service between the islands of Hokkaido and O‘ahu that was discontinued by other carriers in 2003.
The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority estimates that the new flight will provide $61 million in direct visitor spending, $6.7 million in tax revenue and support 700 jobs for Hawai‘i residents annually.
In other news, Hawaiian Airlines announced last week the hiring of Ron Anderson-Lehman as senior vice president and chief information officer.
Effective June 20, Anderson-Lehman will oversee all of Hawaiian Airlines’ information technology activities, including the design and implementation of the company’s technology solutions and the running of the business information technology infrastructure.
Anderson-Lehman brings more than 25 years of information technology experience to his new role. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and chief information officer of Continental Airlines, a position he held from 2006 until the airline’s merger with United Airlines in 2010.
Anderson-Lehman began his career in aviation in 1986 as a computer programmer for United Airlines. From there, he moved into roles of increasing responsibility with Covia and Galileo International before joining Continental in 2000.
Hawaiian Airlines Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HA).
