Hawaiian Airlines has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for approval to introduce nonstop flights between Honolulu and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport. If approved, the new service would start in late October.
According to a statement, the new route is "in keeping with Hawaiian’s long-term vision to expand its service in Asia and create new economic and cultural opportunities for Hawaii." Hawaiian’s daily service between Haneda and Honolulu would provide a boost to Hawaii’s tourism industry by stimulating revenue and job growth, and supporting new and existing businesses statewide, the statement continues.
Hawaiian is proposing twice-daily flights on the new Honolulu-Tokyo route, starting in late October, with departures leaving Japan at night and mid-day arrivals in time for hotel check-in and a first afternoon in Hawaii. Both of Hawaiian’s proposed daily flights would depart Haneda shortly before midnight and arrive in Honolulu around noon the same day. The return flights would both depart Honolulu around 6:45 p.m. and arrive at Haneda around 10 p.m. the next day. (Tokyo is 19 hours ahead of Honolulu and the flight crosses the International Dateline.)
Hawaiian plans to serve the Honolulu-Tokyo route with its 264-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, and new 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, the first three of which will join the fleet in April, May and November of this year.