Hawaiian Airlines will begin thrice-weekly nonstop service between Honolulu and Sapporo, Japan, this November, pending approval from the Japanese government.
Japan’s fifth-largest city, Sapporo is home to 1.9 million people and located on the country’s northernmost island of Hokaido. The new service will be the fourth Japanese destination added to Hawaiian’s route network in a little over two years.
“This new service builds on our strategy to diversify our revenue base and strengthens Hawaiian’s presence in one of our most important visitor markets,” Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The addition of Sapporo to our network will allow our customers in Japan to fly directly to Hawaii from Japan’s three largest islands.”
The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) predicts the new service will add 41,000 new air seats to Oahu annually and generate $61 million in direct visitor spending.
Hawaiian inaugurated nonstop service between Honolulu and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in November 2010 followed by new nonstop flights to Osaka in July 2011 and Fukuoka last month.
According to HTA statistics, Japan accounted for nearly 17% of Hawaii’s total visitors in 2012, making it the destination’s largest international source market.