Hawaiian Airlines launched its fourth direct flight service to Japan Tuesday morning.
Passengers and crew enjoyed an island style send-off at Honolulu Airport before boarding the flight to Sapporo, Japan.
Sapporo is Japan’s fourth largest city with a population of about 1.9 million people.
For the first time in almost a decade, Sapporo and the northern island of Hokkaido will have a direct flight to Honolulu.
"Big news for Hawaii to have our home carrier, Hawaiian, fly to Sapporo and it fits into our strategy of if Hawaii is like a mutual fund we are adding new ports of departure so that is really great," said Mike McCartney of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
The flight between Honolulu and Sapporo is expected to bring an extra 41,000 visitors annually.
"To be specific, that is about $61 million in visitor expenditures and about $6.7 million in tax revenue to the state so it is a great investment for Hawaii," McCartney says.
Not only is the new air route great for the local economy but it also adds new markets for Hawaiian Airlines.
"But Sapporo and Fukuoka are places that haven’t been served in a many years so we saw opportunity with the strong pull of Japanese want to come visit Hawaii," says Hawaiian Airlines Vice President Peter Ingram.
The flights from Honolulu to Sapporo, Japan are three times a week.
Taizo Braden will be flying to Japan this Thursday and bring you reports from Sapporo all next week.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
