Air China’s maiden flight on its Beijing- Honolulu route has touched down in Hawaii.
Arriving on schedule at 4:30pm yesterday, Air China’s flight CA837 was met with a typical fanfare of lei, Hawaiian music and hula, watched by officials from Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state’s tourism agency.
It will have an initial frequency of three flights a week arriving in Honolulu on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The HTA believes this service could generate up to $80.4 million for the economy and $8.6 million in state tax revenues each year.
"China is a tremendous market for our tourism economy and this new route will provide greater ease of access to our Hawaiian Islands," according to Mike McCartney, CEO of the HTA.
The HTA said the China market has the highest spend per visitor in Hawaii with an average of $392 per person per day.
A total of 123,000 Chinese travelers visited Hawaii between January and November 2013 and the HTA have projected up to 182,000 visitors in 2014.
In direct competition, Hawaiian Airlines will also operate a thrice-weekly service on the same route, beginning in April.
