According to a recently released Airline Seats Capacity report conducted by Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, available seats on nonstop flights to the state will increase 5.6% through March, April and May when compared with the same period in 2009.
That marks the fourth report in a row to project overall airline seat gains.
The DBEDT report forecast more than 2.3 million scheduled air seats to Hawaii through May of this year, with 1.6 million of those arriving from the U.S. mainland, a year-over-year increase of 5.2%.
Available seats from the U.S. West were projected to grow 5.1% compared with last year, while those from the U.S. East are expected to increase 6.3%.
An 18% jump was forecast for seats on nonstop flights from Chicago along with a 13.1% increase on those from Los Angeles. For California, growth was also expected on flights from San Jose, up 38.1%; Sacramento, up 38.8%; and Oakland, up 54.9%.
Losses, however, were projected from Seattle, off 17.1%; Atlanta, down 27.7%; and Minneapolis, off 25.7%.
DBEDT officials anticipate a 6.7% increase in seats on flights arriving from international destinations, with those from Japan growing 3.2% year over year, while lift from Canadian cities is expected to skyrocket 45.7%.
The DBEDT report is based on information in the Official Airline Guide flight schedules as of February.
