Hawaii
Iran DESTINATIONS
F
or tourism bosses in Hawaii, a direct connection to Europe has long felt necessary, but unlikely.
However, a combination of new
technology and ongoing depressed oil prices have now given them the fresh impetus to try and set up a direct flight from UK to the islands. Hawaii Tourism Authority COO Randy Baldemor and Brad DiFiore, managing director at aviation consultancy Ailevon Pacific, made a 48-hour trade mission to the UK last month where they held meetings with several airlines They are arguing that not only does the
technology allow for the new route but after four years of record visitor numbers, there is a big enough market across the whole of Europe to support one. Baldemor says of the 143,000 visitors
the Pacific Islands received from Europe in 2015, more than a third (50,000) came from the UK. He adds: “It’s about getting in front of the airlines and keeping Hawaii in their minds whenever we are talking about routes. Whether we were at Routes Americas in Puerto Rico or going to World Routes in Chengdu, that’s what we do. “It is about having those meetings, letting the airlines know we’re interested and building a case for the route. We feel strongly there’s a good case. “Europe is our largest outbound market
and a tremendous opportunity. We came over to build on that opportunity.” DiFiore agrees, adding: “We’re getting
120 to 140 visitors a day to Hawaii from the UK and all of them are transiting at least one other gateway.
“It is a very long, arduous trip and we would like nothing more than to make it easier and more convenient.” He states both the Boeing 787
Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are capable of handling the 14 and a half hour flight from London. DiFiore adds: “With any long-haul flight
there’s always a concern about the impact of fuel, but that’s where the technology comes back into play. “The efficiency of both the A350 and the
Dreamliner make it still viable although it would probably be hard to get it started on a high fuel price. It has to be sustainable.”
Capital gains
DiFiore believes London would be the best starting point for the flight thanks to the size of the UK market, while additional feeder flights from across Europe would further drive the commercial argument for the route. “We’re open to any carrier that has a network geared for long-haul international flying,” DiFiore adds. “Most of our carriers are global carriers and that’s the indication of the programme and the product on offer but the low-cost carrier sector is growing.” Hawaii’s most prolific airline is Hawaiian Airlines, operating a total of 28 routes out of its five airports, 22 of which fly from Honolulu International Airport. Meanwhile, Baldemor says the authority
is looking at attracting new markets to grow the airlines’ potential client base. The rise is being driven by improving
technology and analysis, which has allowed the tourist board to better understand different markets. w.
routesonline.com ROUTES NEWS 2016 ISSUE 3 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52