Australia’s JetStar Reopens Honolulu-Melbourne Route

Photo courtesy of JetStar.

By Sonia Isotov

Hawaii will get additional airlift from Australia, later this year, when JetStar reinstates service from Honolulu to Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city.

“Jetstar’s decision to reinstate its Melbourne-Honolulu route with two flights per week will provide 606 incremental air seats to Hawai‘i per week starting December 15, 2012, with plans to increase service to three flights per week from spring 2013,” said Mike McCartney, the president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), in a written statement yesterday.

“We are pleased that travel demand for Hawai‘i continues to spur additional airlift to the Hawaiian Islands.

On an annual basis, the HTA estimates that the flights will provide $59.1 million in visitor expenditures and $6.4 million in tax revenue to the state.

The timing of this flight coincides with Australia’s summer holiday season, which will help to further increase visitor arrivals and generate incremental spending and tax revenues for the state.

Australia continues building as a significant market for Hawaii tourism. Earlier this year, Hawaiian Airlines added a new Brisbane services which increased their total seat numbers from Austrilia by 38%. The HTA estimated that Hawaiian’s Brisbane-Honolulu service would generate $83 million in visitor expenditures and $9 million in tax revenue annually for Hawai’i.