Tour firms offer flights to Alaska

Advertiser Staff

As air carriers have dropped flights from Japan to the West Coast, often the first leg to Alaska, Hawaiian Vacations/Alaskan Vacations announced that it teamed up with a Japanese tour operator to offer flights to Alaska via Hawai'i this summer.

The agreement, with Japan Travel Bureau, will cover 47 departures from June to the end of September, said David Karp, Hawaiian Vacations chief operating officer.

Tourists will fly Northwest Airlines from Japan to Honolulu, then board a Hawaiian Vacations flight to Anchorage, Karp said.

The Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau said it is pleased that Japanese travelers will have the Hawai'i option, because Japan is an important tourism market for Alaska.

Japanese air carriers trimmed flights to the West Coast after Sept. 11, Hawaiian Vacations said, and Northwest Airlines dropped a flight between Japan and Seattle.