Hawaiian Air spreads its wings

The carrier adds the Philippines to its list of destinations

GOING GLOBAL Hawaiian Airlines has debuted its new Honolulu-Manila service » Honolulu departures: Flight #455 departs on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila the following day at 5:15 p.m. » Honolulu arrivals: Flight #456 departs Manila on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and arrives in Honolulu the same day at 11:15 a.m. » Time difference: Manila is 18 hours ahead of Honolulu » Introductory round-trip fare: $499, plus taxes and fees, for coach-class seating that is good for travel purchases through May 31. » Aircraft: Boeing 767 seating up to 264 passengers » Information: www.HawaiianAirlines.com or 1-800-367-5320

In a festive setting replete with cultural Filipino singing and dancing, Hawaiian Airlines launched its first-ever service to Asia yesterday with a nonstop flight to Manila.

With more than 100 VIPs aboard, including former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano and his wife, Vicky, the state's oldest carrier took off on a historic scheduled 10-hour, 45-minute flight that marked the beginning of four-times-a-week, nonstop service to the Philippines.

"It's a great day for both our communities and our countries," Philippines Sen. Richard Gordon said. "When you open up airline connectivity, you open up channels of communications, business and tourism."

Hawaiian Airlines chose Manila as its latest international stop because of the high concentration of Filipinos in Hawaii. There are 170,000 Filipino residents, or 15 percent of the state's population, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, more than 275,000 Hawaii residents, or 23 percent of the state's population, identified themselves as either Filipino or part Filipino.

"We believe the air service we are starting between Hawaii and the Philippines is a reflection that the market has been underserved, and we're going to be changing that today with the introduction of our award-winning service," Hawaiian President and Chief Executive Mark Dunkerley told the gathering of passengers in a special ceremony near the boarding gate.

Afterward, Dunkerley said the airline also is looking at "a couple (other) Asian destinations to hopefully inaugurate in 2009."

"But as the events in the last few weeks have showed, we're sometimes confronted with a situation where we have to make very quick decisions, and we announced service to Oakland very quickly after the demise of Aloha and ATA. So those sorts of circumstances can change our plans pretty suddenly."

Dunkerley said bookings in general look "fine" for the Manila route, but he can't get more specific ahead of the company's first-quarter earnings report.

"This is an investment that will take a couple years to pay off, so we're not that focused on short-term bookings," he said. "We're more focused on the long-term building of the route."

While the start of Manila service represents Hawaiian's first foray into Asia, it's the third international route for the state's oldest airline, which was founded in January 1929. Hawaiian also serves Sydney, Australia, and Papeete, Tahiti.

The airline also flies to Pago Pago, American Samoa, as well as nine West Coast cities with a 10th, Oakland, scheduled to debut on May 1 -- a response to the shutdowns of Aloha and ATA, which both had served that city.

Dunkerley said Hawaiian normally has some spare aircraft capacity, and the airline is using that capacity to fly extra service to meet demand from the other airlines' shutdowns.

"We are out looking for some additional aircraft right now," he said. "We're most focused on the need to get some additional interisland airplanes, but we're also looking further afield at some longer aircraft as well. From what we have right now, we'd want to increase capacity. When (Mesa Air Group's) go! came into the marketplace, there was overcapacity interisland. Aloha's demise, which is a dreadful thing at a number of different levels, does create a need for some additional flying. But it's probably not going to replace each seat lost at Aloha with another seat."

Retired Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Mario Ramil, one of the invited passengers on the inaugural flight, called the start of service to Manila "significant."

"There's always been these very strong ties between Hawaii and the Philippines," said Ramil, who was born in the Philippines. "Hawaiian Air is going to be providing a permanent bridge to Honolulu from Manila, and I think that's going to be great in terms of cultural and in terms of business."

Vicky Cayetano, who was born in Manila, said the last time she visited the Philippines was in 1997 on official business with her husband.

"From a businessperson's perspective, I think it's great to have another option to travel to the Philippines," said Vicky, president and CEO of United Laundry Services Inc.

Philippine Airlines flies nonstop between Honolulu and Manila three times a week, while Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines offer one-stop service.

Ben Cayetano, who was born in Kalihi but whose parents were born in the Philippines, said he wants to fly under the radar on this trip and go "as regular people" instead of receiving the red-carpet treatment.

"I think people (who have never been there) will be surprised when they go to the Philippines and they find this country where everybody speaks English," he said. "In terms of Philippine tourism compared to other places, you've just got to go and there's a lot to offer. Filipinos are among the warmest people in the world."

Passenger Eddie Flores, president, CEO and co-founder of L&L Drive Inn, said he travels to the Philippines two or three times a year, and if there is an opportunity to expand his popular lunch-plate chain there, he'll do it.

But Flores, whose father was born in the Philippines, said what he's most excited about is the opportunity to fly nonstop -- not so much for him but for the older generation that finds it difficult to take 16-hour connecting flights to Manila.

"This is like United States Air, Local Air," he said. "They understand local culture and that's very important for us."

Philippines Consul General Ariel Abadilla said the inauguration of the new service is equally important to both sides.

"It is a very important development in terms of the business and the traveling public and the tourism that goes on between Hawaii and the Philippines," he said. "It shows that there is really this great relationship and interaction between the people of Hawaii and the people of the Philippines."