Posted on: Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Hawai'i gains link to Phoenix

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Southwest Airlines customers will be able to fly ATA Airlines flights to Hawai'i from Phoenix under an expanded code-sharing agreement between the airlines.

Southwest and ATA began selling seats on each other's flights last month, but Southwest passengers wishing to fly to Hawai'i on ATA previously had to connect through Chicago's Midway Airport. Southwest doesn't fly to Hawai'i.

The expansion of the agreement adds connections at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Flights start April 3.

"We are looking forward to serving our new customers on this easy connection to the Hawaiian Islands," said Doug Yakola, ATA's senior vice president for customers and ground operations. "Now, travelers from more than a dozen new cities will have the opportunity to fly to Hawai'i ... At the same time, our loyal Hawaiian customers now have a whole host of expanded destinations on the Mainland to visit."

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert called the development positive.

"Phoenix is an underserved market, anyway, and to have that direct connection from Phoenix to Hawai'i I think is going to be phenomenal for us," she said. "With any destination that has direct service coming from it, you see the demand increase because it's easy to get there."

Southwest, based in Dallas, also said it is expanding its operations at Sky Harbor International Airport by adding eight new gates for a total of 24.

Indianapolis-based ATA will operate 62 weekly roundtrips from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco during the summer peak travel season. The Honolulu and Maui service from Phoenix expands from two weekly flights to six on April 3 and shifts to daily service on June 7.

In other news, the state forecast a 13.5 percent growth in the number of airline seats coming into Hawai'i from March through May compared with the same period last year.

Almost 2.59 million seats are expected for the three-month period, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The analysis is based on the Official Airline Guide database. The number includes 1.84 million seats from the Mainland, a 12.1 percent increase over the same time last year. Another 747,430 seats would come from international markets, up 17.2 percent.

"The hope is ... with the demand the way it is and the economy the way it is, that the air seats will result in an increase in air passengers," Wienert said. "If it just continues the way it does today, no problem."

The state expects air seats from Hawai'i's major markets to grow. Seats from the U.S. West are predicted to increase by 11.4 percent, U.S. East by 15.1 percent, Japan by 18.9 percent and Canada by 35.3 percent.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at 535-2470 or larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.