Continental Airlines adds flights to Hawaii

HONOLULU, HI – Continental Airlines today announced new service from Honolulu to Orange County and from Maui to Los Angeles. Continental is also planning a second daily flight on the Honolulu-Los Angeles route. The new flights begin March 7, 2010.

“Hawaii continues to be a popular travel destination for our customers,” said Jeff Moken, Continental’s Honolulu general manager. “We continue to see good demand for travel between Hawaii and the US mainland and are pleased to offer expanded travel options to the islands.”

Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority said: “We’ve been meeting with Continental Airlines, as well as other carriers, in order to regain seat inventory lost with the closures of Aloha Airlines and ATA. We are especially pleased that Continental will add a direct Honolulu-Orange County flight, a popular route for travelers to Hawaii.”

Continental’s new service between Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA) will initially operate four-times weekly. The flight will depart Honolulu at 11:10 pm and arrive at Orange County at 7:45 am the next day, except on Saturdays where it will depart a half-hour later. The return flight will depart Orange County at 5:20 pm arriving in Honolulu at 8:05 pm. Continental will utilize a Boeing 737-700 on the new route with 124 seats, and plans to increase the service to daily during the summer.

The new daily flight from Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to will depart at 9:15 pm and arrive in Los Angeles at 5:45 am the next day. The return flight will depart Los Angeles at 5:05 pm and arrive in Kahului, Maui at 7:45 pm. Continental will operate the flight with a Boeing 737-800 with 160 seats.

Continental will utilize a Boeing 737-900 with 173 seats for its second daily flight between Honolulu and Los Angeles, departing at 1:50 pm and arriving in Los Angeles at 10:25 pm. The return flight will depart Los Angeles at 1:55 pm and arrive in Honolulu at 4:40 pm.

Continental also serves Hawaii with daily flights from New York, Houston, and Guam. Beginning December 18, 2009, Continental will also operate twice-weekly service between Honolulu and Nadi, Fiji.