Hawaiian Airlines launches Honolulu-Seoul service

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) yesterday (January 12) spread its wings deeper into Asia, with the launch of its new nonstop service between Honolulu and Seoul (Incheon), South Korea.

Seoul represents Hawaiian’s first destination on the Asia continent and its third Asia destination overall, having previously launched service to Manila (April 2008) and Tokyo (November 2010).

Hawaiian’s inaugural flight to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport began with a pre-flight ceremony at the boarding gate at Honolulu International Airport that featured Hawaiian music and hula, a special Korean cultural dance performance, traditional Hawaiian blessing, and the giving of fresh flower lei to departing passengers.

Hawaiian is providing nonstop service four days weekly to Incheon, adding 54,000 new air seats annually to a market that has been rapidly growing since Korea joined the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2008. According to information provided by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), arrivals year-to-date from Korea to Hawaii through November 2010 totaled 79,131 visitors, an increase of 75.3 percent compared to the same period in 2009. HTA is projecting that Hawaii will receive 115,000 visitors from Korea in 2011.

Hawaiian’s Flight HA 459 departs Honolulu International Airport four days weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 1:20 p.m. (1320) and arrives at Incheon International Airport at 8:05 p.m. (2005) the following day.

Return Flight HA 460 departs Incheon on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 10:15 p.m.(2215) and arrives in Honolulu at 11:00 a.m. (1100) the same day. (South Korea is 19 hours ahead of Honolulu and the flight crosses the International Dateline.)

Hawaiian will initially serve the Incheon-Honolulu route using its wide-body, twin-aisle Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft, which seats up to 264 passengers with 18 in Business Class and 246 in Economy Class. Hawaiian plans to introduce its new and larger 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft onto the route at a later date.

Copyright Photo: Ivan K. Nishimura. Please click on the photo for aircraft information.

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