KAHULUI, Maui >> The president of the Maui County Farm Bureau said he thinks the merger between Hawaiian and Aloha airlines will be good for the Valley Isle. Maui County
Farm Bureau chief
backs airline mergerGary Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com"It gives us an opportunity to explore new markets," said Warren Watanabe.
Watanabe's comments came as the prospective head of the merged company talked with business people on the Valley Isle yesterday about expanding direct mainland flights into Maui.
Greg Brenneman, who would lead the merged airline, said he's looking at increasing the number of direct flights into Maui and the rest of the state.
Robert W. Zoller, Hawaiian's president and chief operating officer, announced that airline would begin Maui direct flights to Seattle March 15; with flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles following June 15.
Brenneman said he would retain those mainland flights after the merger is completed.
Hawaiian has had seasonal Maui-Seattle flights in the past and had discontinued Los Angeles-Maui flights, said Zoller.
The San Francisco-Maui route is new for the airline.
All three daily flights will use Boeing 767 aircraft, which have a third more cargo space than Hawaiian's old DC-10s, said Zoller.
One airport Brenneman does not plan to revisit is Hana, because of the low passenger volume, he said.
