Hawaiian Airlines Launches Fukuoka Flights

Courtesy photo: Hawaiian Airlines

Festive gate-side celebrations welcomed travelers aboard inaugural Hawaiian Airlines flights between Fukuoka and Honolulu.

The celebrations, held in both cities today and yesterday, marked the start of the airlineʻs four-times weekly nonstop service between Fukuoka Airport and the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on the Airbus A330 aircraft.

Travelers were treated to performances by the Hawaiian Airlines Serenaders music and hula troupe, as well as fresh lei and special keepsake, including a canvas tote and luggage tag commemorating the airline’s inaugural flight.

Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram addressed guests in Honolulu to mark the return of service to its sister city.

Ross Higashi, deputy director of the State of Hawai’i Department of Transportation – Airports and Koichi Ito, Consul General of Japan also offered congratulatory remarks before the inaugural flight, HA827, departed HNL at 11:20 a.m. yesterday, arriving into FUK at 5:21 p.m. today.

In Fukuoka, Theo Panagiotoulias, Hawaiian’s senior vice president of global sales and alliances, and John C. Taylor, principal officer of the US consulate in Fukuoka joined guests in celebrating HA828, which departed FUK at 7:55 p.m today Japan time.

The flight’s 8:45 a.m. scheduled arrival at HNL on the same day gives travelers the afternoon to explore O‘ahu or connect to one of Hawaiian’s seven neighbor island destinations.

“Fukuoka and Honolulu share a special relationship, so we’re thrilled to bring local residents of Kyushu and Hawai‘i one step closer to their vacation with our convenient nonstop service,” Panagiotoulias said in a press release.

“We’re pleased to now offer 35 weekly flights between Hawai‘i and five gateways in Japan with the launch of our new Fukuoka service.”

Fukuoka becomes Hawaiian’s fourth gateway city in Japan, which complements its existing network of nonstop service connecting the Hawaiian Islands with Osaka, Sapporo, and Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports.

The carrier will begin additional daily service between Honolulu and Tokyo Haneda in March.