The Hawaii Tourism Authority has confirmed two proposed low cost routes from Asia to Honolulu are on track to begin flying by the end of the year.
AirAsia X, the long haul subsidiary of Malaysia based AirAsia Group, will begin flights from Kuala Lumpur via Japan to Honolulu.
AirAsia’s planned November 2015 launch of the route had been in doubt due to delays in obtaining regulatory approval for a base in Japan.
Fellow low cost carrier Jin Air will also begin flights to Honolulu from Seoul, South Korea by the end of the year, the HTA said.
Jin Air is a wholly owned unit of national carrier Korean Air.
The HTA said the new flights will give the Hawaii tourism a huge boost.
They’re coming to Hawaii which is a good thing, because that will help with bringing visitors to Hawaii that couldn’t afford to come before. The competition is good as well," said Randy Baldemor, COO, Hawaii Tourism Authority.
"It’s going to bring thousands and thousands of seats into Honolulu and also from a different vantage point. They’re low-cost carriers so the cost of the seats is actually going to be lower than travelers may see now."
