Hawaiian, Jetstar sign interline deal

Hawaiian Airlines has joined forces with the Jetstar Group to offer interline connections to Hawaii and mainland US destinations from cities in Japan and New Zealand. The deal means Jetstar New Zealand’s domestic flights from Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Napier, Nelson and Queenstown will now connect in Auckland with Hawaiian Airlines’ non-stop flights to Honolulu. In Japan, the interline agreement allows Jetstar customers departing from Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Takamatsu, Okinawa and Kumamoto to connect on Hawaiian’s non-stop flights to Hawaii from Tokyo, Sapporo or Osaka. Interlining  involves airlines agreeing to handle each other’s passengers . It means passengers can change from airline to another without having to get their bags and check-in again. Jetstar and Hawaiian compete between Australia and Honolulu but not with direct flights between the US holiday hotspot and Japan and New Zealand. Hawaiian is on a roll after passenger numbers hit a record 11.5 million in 2017 to deliver 13 consecutive years of growth. It plans to increase capacity by 6.5 per cent in 2018 with new routes to the US mainland and increases in capacity to Japan and New Zealand. This includes an increase in flights between Honolulu and Auckland from three a week to five from March 21. The airline, which began flying to Auckland in 2013,  said the increase was in response to strong demand. “New Zealanders have been fast to discover Hawaiian Airlines as the ideal option for flights both to Hawaii and further to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, or any of the 11 U.S. North America cities we serve,” Hawaiian’s New Zealand country director, Russell Williss, said in a statement. “In addition to superior service and comfort, our guests are able to enjoy the convenience of a free stopover in Hawaii before connecting to North America or on the return to New Zealand.” Jetstar chief commercial officer Catriona Laritt said the new partnership would make it easier for American visitors to explore the airline’s network of destination in japan and New Zealand as well as offering travellers from both countries more options to travel to Hawaii. Hawaiian has also signed a codeshare deal with Japan Airlines due to get underway from March 25.