Hawaiian Air to add route to Sendai
Hawaiian Airlines disclosed plans to add Sendai, Japan, to its network with three weekly flights from Honolulu beginning June 25, subject to Japanese government approval. The service would be operated with 767-300ER aircraft configured for 264 seats. Return flights would include a stop in Sapporo. Hawaiian said the Honolulu-Sendai market has been without nonstops since 2004 and noted that its service will be among the first new routes instituted after the Sendai Airport was damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Virgin America adds Austin, Anchorage
Virgin America opened its books on availability for two new routes from its San Francisco base: to Austin, Texas, beginning May 21 and a seasonal service to Anchorage on June 6. The carrier is promoting the daily San Francisco-Austin route as a Silicon Valley-to-Silicon Hills operation that will appeal to tech industry travelers, with WiFi on every flight. The Anchorage route, to be served with six weekly flights, marks the airline's first foray into Alaska.
Fly Jamaica makes inaugural flight
Fly Jamaica, Jamaica's newest airline, launched four weekly flights Feb. 14 between New York Kennedy's Terminal One and Norman Manley Airport in Kingston. Fly Jamaica uses a 757, seating 198 passengers in business and economy. The carrier is a partnership between Fly Jamaica Chairman and CEO Paul Ronald Reece and three Jamaican shareholders. Future routes will include Guyana and Toronto, according to Reece.
Disney turns Magic to Italy, San Juan
Disney Cruise Line will offer cruises for the first time from Venice and San Juan in 2014. From May to August, the Disney Magic will homeport in Venice, offering a Greek Isles itinerary. Moving to San Juan, the Disney Magic will offer southern Caribbean cruises in September and October visiting Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada and St. Kitts. Also, Disney Wonder will return to Vancouver for seven-night Alaska cruises in the summer of 2014.
Luxury Collection arrives in Warsaw
Starwood's Luxury Collection made its debut in Poland, rebranding Warsaw's Hotel Bristol. The landmark property, on the Royal Route, near the Presidential Palace, dates from 1901 and offers 168 rooms and 38 suites.
Marriott hotel opens in Bangalore
Marriott opened its first hotel in Bangalore, India's third-largest city. The Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, about 30 minutes from central Bangalore, includes 324 rooms and more than 10,000 square feet of meetings space. It also has a fitness center as well as four restaurants and bars. Marriott plans to open a 250-room Ritz-Carlton in Bangalore later this year.
San Antonio project attracts Kimpton
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants said its first San Antonio hotel will open next year in a mixed-use redevelopment of the Pearl Brewery. The 146-room hotel will be near an outpost of the Culinary Institute of America.
Friends & Colleagues
Cruise Holidays Vice President and COO Mark Schiffner will leave the company on April 30. The cruise franchise arm of Travel Leaders Group said Schiffner will return to his native Canada to own and run a hair-care franchise company. Schiffner has been in the post for four years. Tom Baumann, president of Travel Leaders Leisure Group, will become interim head of Cruise Holidays. • • • Hickory Global Partners said that Mark Miller will head its airline program and strategic partnership initiatives. Miller's past positions have included COO of Atlas Travel International and general manager of Teplis Travel Service in Atlanta. Before that, he spent 10 years at American Express, where he was director of supplier relations, responsible for preferred suppliers and airline strategy. • • • Highgate Hotels and FelCor named Jeff David managing director for the landmark Knickerbocker Hotel, which is expected to reopen in early 2014 near New York's Times Square. David's career spans 20 years in hospitality management, with high-level management experience at the Viceroy Hotel Group (specifically, properties in Palm Springs, Calif.; Snowmass, Colo.; and Anguilla) and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.