No more alohas as major airline cancels local route

INTERNATIONAL travel is being bolstered by visiting family and friend bookings, with flights to Greece and Lebanon high on the agenda for many Australians wanting to reconnect with relatives.

Closer to home, leisure ports of call such as Hawaii, which is open to Australian travellers, are not attracting huge holiday-maker attention.

Hawaiian Airlines announced on Thursday it was scrapping its Brisbane to Honolulu services the carrier had been operating for almost a decade.

The airline’s regional director, Andrew Stanbury, said the indefinite end of the flights was a difficult decision.

“But like many other airlines we find ourselves rebuilding our network in a vastly different operating environment,” Mr Stanbury said.

Some Hawaii-based hotels are also feeling the pinch, with the Hilton hotel brand offering 40 per cent discounts on room nights for selected periods at its Waikiki and Big Island resort properties.

However, one of the world’s biggest cruise companies, Norwegian Cruise Lines, is on track to re-establish its popular seven-night Hawaiian itineraries leaving from Honolulu aboard the Pride of America from January 22.

At the start of the pandemic, Hawaiian Airlines suspended all flights between Australia and Hawaii but recommenced its Sydney to Honolulu services on December 13 offering a five times weekly service from Sydney on its Airbus A330s.

Budget carrier Jetstar, meanwhile, said it was proceeding with a restart of its flights to Honolulu from both Sydney and Melbourne from March 1. The airline has been offering discounts and sales promotions to attract guests.

Jetstar says it will operate its services to Honolulu at the same weekly level as it did before the Covid-19 pandemic.