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Aloha Airlines Aloha Airlines started selling tickets today for a new daily Honolulu-Orange County, Calif., service that takes off May 1.
going to Disneyland
The carrier will begin flights
to Orange County on May 1
as it expands its mainland serviceBy Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin
The service to John Wayne Airport is the airline's third mainland route since kicking off service to Oakland last February.
Just last week, the carrier began twice daily Hawaii to Las Vegas service, one each from Honolulu and Maui.
Aloha is targeting Orange County residents who want to visit Hawaii but don't want to drive to Los Angeles International Airport, about an hour away.
The airline also believes Hawaii residents planning to visit Disneyland in nearby Anaheim will fly the route, Aloha President and Chief Executive Glenn R. Zander said.
"John Wayne Airport is the closest point of (air travel) arrival to Disneyland which is the second-most popular destination for Hawaii residents after Las Vegas," he said.
Tickets for the Orange County flights go on sale today with round trip, 21-day advance purchase fare for about $440.
In addition, the airline also begins daily flights May 1 between the Orange County airport and Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport. Then on June 1, Aloha will expand air service to Orange County with an additional daily direct flight from Kahului, Maui.
Aloha received the allocation for the flights into John Wayne Airport earlier this month after nearly a year of planning and meetings with Orange County officials, Aloha officials said.
Aloha's new Orange County route gives its passengers the opportunity to visit three diverse destinations on the same round trip ticket: Las Vegas, Northern California and Southern California, Zander said.
He described Orange County's large and diverse population as "great demographics" for the airline because it's an "upscale community with a propensity to travel, and lots of people who come to Hawaii."
The success of Aloha's Hawaii-Oakland flights -- 75-percent passenger capacity -- persuaded executives that a Southern California route also held promise, Zander said.
Initial concerns that the smaller Boeing 737-700 aircraft would be too confining for a five-hour flight were unfounded, he said.
"We found the opposite to be true once people rode in the plane," Zander said.
The Boeing 737-700 is nearly identical to the airplanes now in use in Aloha's neighbor island fleet but capable of much longer range, fly at higher altitude, and are more quiet. The aircraft is capable of 140 seats but is being limited to 124 seats for comfort, Zander said. It is dwarfed by the much-wider 747s, which can carry 300 passengers, and the longer 757s, with up to 200 seats, commonly used by larger carriers to Hawaii.
Aloha takes delivery of three new planes in March and May: two will be used for the Hawaii-Orange County route, and the other aircraft for Hawaii-Oakland, Zander said.
Aloha now provides twice daily service between Hawaii and Oakland International Airport.
That flight then continues to Las Vegas.
In April, Aloha will add four weekly direct flights between Kona and Oakland, as well as expand its operations between Honolulu and the Marshall Islands.
Aloha has no immediate expansion plans "beyond what we have right now," Zander said.
"We'll concentrate on what we've got, then see how it goes."