Hawaiian to launch Sapporo flights
Hawaiian Airlines has revealed that the northern Japanese city of Sapporo will join its route network later this year.
The airline is set to begin services between Honolulu International Airport and the Japanese city’s New Chitose Airport in November 2012, pending Japanese government approval. Services will operate three times a week using a twin-aisle, 264-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.
“This new service builds on our strategy to diversify our revenue base and strengthens Hawaiian’s presence in one of our most important visitor markets,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s President & CEO. “The addition of Sapporo to our network will allow our customers in Japan to fly directly to Hawaii from Japan’s three largest islands and, at the same time, give our customers in Hawaii a convenient connection to one of Japan’s largest inbound tourist markets.”
Sapporo will become Hawaiian’s fourth Japanese destination, following the launch of services to Tokyo in November 2010, Osaka in July 2011 and Fukuoka in April 2012. It will also become the airline’s fifth new Asian destination in two years, including the launch of flights to Seoul in January 2011.
Sapporo is Japan’s fifth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million.