Westjet Dreamliner Arrives at Kahului Airport

WestJet’s 787 Dreamliner began service between Calgary and Kahului Airport on Thursday, marking the first regularly scheduled Dreamliner service from Canada to Kahului.

“We are thrilled to share the spirit of aloha with our neighbors to the North,” said Director Jade Butay, Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. “The addition of seats from Canada is anticipated to generate a tremendous economic benefit for the state,” he said.

Butay cited data from the Hawaiʻi Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority saying each visitor from Canada spends an average of $167 a day in Hawaiʻi; and year to date through the first three quarters, visitors from Canada generated $783.9 million for the Hawaiʻi economy.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, WestJet plans to operate up to 48 weekly flights to four Hawaiʻi cities. During peak seasons, it will operate 20 weekly flights between Kahului, Calgary and Vancouver and up to 28 weekly flights between Honolulu, Līhue, Kona and Vancouver.

According to the Hawaiʻi DOT, the Kahului Airport is the second largest facility in the Hawaiʻi airports system. It welcomed more than 7.3 million total passengers in 2018. In total more than 37.5 million passengers flew in and out of Hawaiʻi’s 15 airports last year, representing a 5.2% increase from the previous year.