Posted at 12:09 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2003
JAL to add two daily Hawai'i flights
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Beginning in July, JAL will increase its Osaka flights from seven to 14 per week. Its 14 weekly Tokyo flights will jump to 21, which is still seven fewer than normal for the summer season.
By August, JAL officials hope to be flying their normal 28 Tokyo trips per week, said spokesman Gilbert Kimura.
"Things are looking a little better," Kimura said. "The war has ended. SARS, for the perception of many people in Japan, has been controlled."
JAL, Asia's largest airline, cut its Honolulu flights in April and again in May after the SARS epidemic and lingering effects from the Iraq war dampened Japanese interest in traveling abroad.
The earlier announcements had worried Hawai'i travel officials, particularly those who cater to Japanese tourists.
While Mainland tourists have kept Hawai'i's economy running, Japanese visitors still spend more per person. And a drop in their numbers takes a toll.
Japanese customers make up 94 percent of sales for duty-free retailer DFS Hawai'i. Revenue for the year is off 10 percent from last year and down 40 percent compared with 2001, said Sharon Weiner, DFS Group vice president.
"The No. 1 reason for these declines, from all of our research, is the decline in (Japanese) arrivals," she said.
This morning's announcement by JAL, Weiner said, "is great news. It's great for Hawai'i. It's great for all of us."
Hawai'i hotels have grown to rely on the steady Mainland market. So the return of more Japanese tourists for the summer will be a bonus, said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors LL, which tracks hotel trends.
"Hopefully, it signals that the Japanese market is stabilizing," Toy said. "We've been increasingly dependent on the U.S. market for the last couple of years. If the Japanese market can recover with it, it's a positive sign. But it's too early to tell whether that's occurring."
While Japanese travelers had been staying home, Kimura said, their desire for travel built up. And today's announcement, he said, reflects a trend back to the normal 28 weekly flights from Tokyo to Honolulu.
"We're almost there," Kimura said.
