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American Air California's fast-paced, high-tech denizens are coming to Maui -- to get a tan.
adds Maui-San
Jose flight
The nonstop service will
begin on Dec. 15By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin
On Dec. 15, American Airlines plans to begin its first daily nonstop flight between Maui and San Jose -- the heart of booming Silicon Valley.
American will fly the route with 188-seat Boeing 757s, according to the airline, which noted that total seat numbers could change.
The move is part of a West Coast expansion. In May, American kicked off direct service between San Jose and Honolulu, and announced plans to fly between Maui and Dallas/Fort Worth, starting in November. The airline also has direct Los Angeles-Maui daily service.
How well American does in the San Jose-Maui service will depend on the price of the tickets, said Russ Hayashi, owner of Valley Isle Travel Inc., a travel agency in Kahului.
If American's prices are competitive, Hayashi thinks the flight would pay off. American most recently posted its flights to San Francisco at $323.
Those who fly the route will not have to stop through Honolulu first, Hayashi said.
Also, flying from the San Jose Airport will draw traffic from the crowded San Francisco Airport, he added.
Aloha Airlines used the same strategy earlier this year when it launched daily service to Oakland, its first flight to the West Coast.
American's move also follows Hawaiian Airlines' planned expansion to San Diego, scheduled for June 15. The flight is expected to draw passengers from Los Angeles, if the price is right.
"San Jose is a large market in its own right, and is also an important connecting point for America's growing West Coast network," said American spokeswoman Stephanie Welch.
Maui has been booming as a tourism destination in recent years, and has already received more than 1.5 million visitors this year, mostly from the West Coast. And thanks to the Internet, San Jose's economy has exploded.
The demand from the Bay Area to visit Maui is already strong, and a direct Maui-San Jose fly will enable tourists to stay for a longer vacation, said Joe Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors LLC, an independent consulting firm.
Toy, who wrote a thesis for his master's degree in travel management on nonstop direct flights serving Maui, said he thinks American will price the trip competitively, and will take on lots of business. "We're starting to see more and more people book flights to one island and stay there."