JAL trims JAPAN AIRLINES is cutting 17 weekly flights to Hawaii during October and November as a result of sharply decreased demand following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the company announced yesterday.
17 flights a week
to Hawaii
Falling demand made the
23 percent decrease inevitable,
an official saysBy B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.com"Based on current demand, these cuts were inevitable," JAL spokesman Geoffrey Tudor said via e-mail from Tokyo. "We hope that demand picks up as soon as possible."
Tudor said there were no plans to lay off any Hawaii-based full-time employees.
Airlines around the world and U.S. tourist destinations have been hard hit by a drop in travel after hijackers slammed jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last month.
Japanese tourists have been canceling their Hawaii trips in droves.
JAL's Hawaii reductions represent a 23 percent decrease in the airline's isle flight schedule and mean there will be about 54,000 fewer airline seats available for the two-month period. A typical flight on the Japan-to-Hawaii route can accommodate 400 passengers, Tudor said.
Since Sept. 15, when international flights resumed following the attacks, the number of passengers coming into Hawaii from Japan has fallen an average of 52 percent a day compared with a year ago, according to preliminary figures from the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. While the daily Japanese visitor count has improved since mid-September, it was still off 41 percent yesterday from a year ago, according to the DBEDT.
JAL's cutbacks come as Gov. Ben Cayetano, along with former Govs. George Ariyoshi and John Waihee, prepare to leave next week on a trip to Japan to promote tourism in Hawaii.
Steve Kawagishi, president of the Japan Hawaii Travel Association, said he is optimistic that the governors' visit will be beneficial, but acknowledged the gravity of the slowdown.
"Of course, the more flights, the better," Kawagishi said. "But if they cannot fill the seats, it's their business decision."
JAL ordinarily operates 75 flights a week from Japan to Hawaii. In addition to the cutbacks to Hawaii, the airline also is trimming 17 flights from Japan to the mainland.
A spokesman for JAL rival All Nippon Airways, which operates 18 weekly flights to Hawaii, said it also has suffered from decreased demand, with passenger volume down 40 percent in September.
ANA announced yesterday it would trim service to Guam, but a decision has not yet been made on whether to reduce the number of flights to Hawaii, spokesman Fred Tanaka said by telephone from Tokyo.
"It's under review," Tanaka said. "Volume in September on (ANA's) routes was down 40 percent. That's a pretty good indicator of the mood."
JAL's Tudor noted that the airline still is operating 58 flights a week to Hawaii.
"That's still a big operation," he said, adding that the reduced flight schedule has only been set through the end of November.
"We have not yet decided on the schedule from Dec. 1," Tudor said. "That will depend on how demand is shaping up."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
