BY MIKE MCCARTNEY – Allegiant’s entry into the Hawai‘i market this summer and expansion to connect additional regional domestic cities this fall is great news for the Hawaiian Islands. New once a week, direct service from both Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Wash. to Honolulu is scheduled to begin February 2013 and will create an additional 233 air seats to Hawai‘i per route, per week. Each route will generate an estimated $13.4 million in visitor expenditures and $1.4 million in tax revenue for the state of Hawaii.
Allegiant’s service model of connecting smaller regional markets opens up new gateway cities for the Hawaiian Islands. These new flights will provide convenient and affordable service for those living within the proximity of Boise and Spokane. And it will also appeal to many Canadians living across the border, near Spokane.
According to the Canadian Airports Council, more than 75 percent of Canadians live within 90 minutes of the U.S. border. Within the last year, as many as 4.8 million Canadians opted to drive across the border to catch a flight from a U.S. airport rather than from their local airport, in order to save on travel costs. These savings translate to more flexibility and freedom to enjoy the destination.
We look forward to welcoming additional direct service from Allegiant and support their efforts in contributing to the continual growth in visitor arrivals and expenditures for Hawai‘i’s tourism economy.
Hopefully they will also add more flights in Southern California…where, last summer, Hawaiian Air and the others really gouged the market… I would love to see the tourist’s dollars actually reach the HAWAIIANS and help the small business rather than line the pockets of the HAL executives. It was amazing to watch what they did in 2012.. I was there for several weeks and every small businessperson I spoke with was very upset that the flights were so expensive. “People just aren’t spending money” was the comment I heard many many times. Yes, the flights will get more people there, but if they are priced as crazy as this year, it won’t have the impact it could. Best of luck to Hawaii. I love it there. Don’t let the airlines’ bean counters ruin it.
Comments are closed.