Posted on: Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Mainland tourists to fly direct to Kaua'i

Advertiser Staff

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, the state's largest wholesale tour operator, has announced its first direct Mainland flights to Kaua'i, starting June 1 and running through the summer.

The tour operator also said yesterday it is switching to smaller, newer aircraft and increasing the frequency of its flights.

The firm has informed the Kaua'i Visitors Bureau that it will fly two flights from the West Coast each Saturday from June 1 to Aug. 31.

A 244-passenger 757-300 will fly from San Francisco and a 214-passenger 757-200 from Los Angeles.

The San Francisco flight will go through Honolulu on its return, while the Los Angeles flight will return without stop.

"It's great news. We have been challenged with air service to Kaua'i of late," said Sue Kanoho, Kaua'i Visitors Bureau director.

The planes would bring tour groups for a week's stay, and return with passengers who had flown in the previous week, she said.

Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, the tour wholesaling firm started by Ed Hogan, owns one hotel on the island — the Kaua'i Coconut Beach — and some of the new traffic would doubtless spill over to other properties, she said.

Mayor Maryanne Kusaka said the announcement confirms that Kaua'i has enough draw in the tourism field to fill direct flights.

"We are grateful to Ed Hogan for his confidence in Kaua'i," she said.

Overall, the total number of seats on Pleasant Hawaiian tours between California and the Islands will remain about the same at 280,000 per year, said spokesman Ken Phillips.

Beginning in May, Pleasant Hawaiian will have two daily flights from San Francisco and two from Los Angeles, up from one daily flight from each city now.

The flights, operated by American Trans Air Inc. and using new 243-passenger Boeing 757-300 aircraft, will run six days a week.

Pleasant Hawaiian previously used 382-passenger Lockheed L-1011 jets.