Service to Hawai'i will begin on Dec. 16 with daily round trips between Phoenix and Honolulu and Phoenix and Kahului, Maui, the company said today in a statement. The carrier previously flew to Hawai'i from 1989 to 1993.

America West said in June it had begun training crews for the flights as it awaited approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for the new routes. In March, it will add a daily flight between Las Vegas and Kahului, a second daily flight between Phoenix and Honolulu, four weekly round trips between Phoenix and Lihue, Kaua'i, and three roundtrip flights a week between Phoenix and Kona, Hawai'i.

America West will make the flights with Boeing Co. 757-200 jets, with 190 seats in first-class and coach sections. The airline earlier said it would add the flights whether or not its planned merger with US Airways is completed. The carriers said last month they expect to close the merger by late September or early October.

America West, the eighth-largest U.S. airline, and No. 8 US Airways agreed May 19 to merge, and have gathered more than $1.5 billion in funding from new investors, vendors and others. The combination will allow US Airways to emerge from bankruptcy protection.