Flights to Hawaii to Keep An Eye On

Honolulu, Hawaii // Photo by Freeimages.com/Jenny W.

There have been some big developments in Hawaii aviation, from the announcement of new routes to the Aloha State offered by Virgin America to a new chief operations officer at Hawaiian Airlines

Report: Virgin America to Expand Hawaii Service With Flights From Los Angeles

Fox LA is reporting that Virgin America will expand its service to Hawaii with daily nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Honolulu, Oahu on May 5, and Kahului, Maui on June 14.

The airline recently launched daily service from San Francisco International Airport to Honolulu and Maui.

Direct flights from LAX to Hawaii start at $169 each way. Virgin is currently having a “Hot Ticket to Hawaii” fare sale to promote the new flights with tickets starting at $169 each way.

As with all of these new flight offers and for the best fares, tickets have to be purchased for travel between May 5 - October 5 for Honolulu and August 15 -Oct. 5 for the Maui trip.

The flights will be operated with new Airbus A320 aircraft that Virgin America began taking delivery of last year, according to the report.

For the Fox LA report, click here and keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest Hawaii news.

Return of Hawaii’s Second Airline to Kauai Will Create More Travel Options

Photo by Freeimages.com/Alberto Grilo

Island Air recently announced it plans to restore service to the island of Kauai with six daily round-trip flights between Honolulu and Lihue Airport (LIH), effective March 15, subject to government approval. 

The return to Lihue is expected to benefit Kauai and the traveling public by offering more seats and more flight options for interisland travel, and the new service will create local jobs.

Having served Kauai since 2004, Hawaii’s second airline suspended its Lihue service in June 2015 as part of a comprehensive effort to restructure its operations. To further support its successful turnaround and plans for expansion, the airline recently announced that it was selling a controlling interest in the company to two Hawaii investor groups managed by local investment firm PacifiCap and its founder Jeffrey Au.

Pending U.S. Department of Transportation review and approval of the sale, the airline is being overseen by a transition team comprised of PacifiCap’s Au, current Island Air CEO Dave Pflieger and former Island Air executive and Kauai native, Les Murashige.
 
In addition to providing additional seat capacity, Island Air’s return to Kauai is expected to create approximately 32 airport-related jobs on Kauai and Oahu.

Visit www.islandair.com

Hawaiian Airlines Appoints New Chief Operations Officer

Jon Snook // Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines recently announced the appointment of Jon Snook to the position of chief operations officer. 

Snook, who has served as Hawaiian's interim COO since October, oversees all flight operations, in-flight services, customer service, maintenance and engineering, and operations analytics.

Snook brings to Hawaiian 29 years of broad commercial and operational experience leading business units in airline, cargo, trucking, tour operating and ground handling industries. Prior to joining Hawaiian, Snook successfully ascended through the ranks of American Airlines, starting on the front line as a ticket agent and most recently serving as senior vice president – customer service, where he led over 40,000 employees and directed the delivery of the airline's end-to-end customer experience. He is also a member of the Episcale Corp advisory board.

Snook completed the management executive program at Kellogg Northwestern University in Chicago. He speaks English and Swedish and holds dual British and U.S. citizenship.

Visit www.hawaiianairlines.com

Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest Hawaii news. Be sure to follow Travel Agent's Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike.