Hawaiian Airlines has further extended its flight suspensions on long-haul routes. This comes as Hawaii has delayed its reopening for mainland tourists amid a surge in coronavirus cases. In turn, the move has pushed the state’s leading airline to push its flight resumptions.
Extending mainland flight suspensions
Currently, Hawaiian is only flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. This means that the carrier has suspended flights to the following destinations:
- Boston (BOS)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Long Beach (LGB)
- New York City (JFK)
- Oakland (OAK)
- Phoenix (PHX)
- San Jose (SJC)
These mainland flights are suspended through August 31st. Hawaiian Airlines flies its Airbus A330s with lie-flat seating in first class to some of the more prominent destinations on the list, including Boston and New York City. The Airbus A321neo flies to some of the other destinations, like Long Beach.
The flight from Boston to Honolulu is the longest domestic flight in the United States. The carrier only recently added the northeastern US city to its route network back in April 2019. It is not, however, the longest domestic flight record in the world. French Bee takes the top prize there, closely followed by Air Tahiti Nui.
Flights to American Samoa, Pago Pago, to be precise, are suspended through August 5th. However, Hawaiian has recently filed with the Department of Transportation to extend that service suspension until August 31st.
Further suspension of international routes
Flights to Tahiti, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo-Chitose are suspended through August 31st. These are the bulk of the airline’s international destinations.
Hawaiian Airlines also flies to Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, the carrier operates to Sydney and Brisbane. To New Zealand, Hawaiian flies to Auckland. Flights to Australia and New Zealand are suspended until September 30th. However, the resumption date will likely be pushed out as the countries seek to limit their influx of foreign tourists and control the virus.
Will Hawaii Reopen for tourists on September 1st?
One of the most significant dates for Hawaiian Airlines in 2020 was August 1st. On that day, the state was set to start welcoming tourists from the mainland if they receive an approved coronavirus test before departure. However, the surge in cases across the mainland led state officials to delay the lifting of that date.
Without the test, arriving citizens in Hawaii must quarantine for a minimum of 14 days– one of the strictest quarantines in the world that can come with a healthy fine. This has, naturally, severely limited tourism to the state– a massive blow to Hawaiian Airlines and plenty of local hotels and tour operators.
The September 1st date will likely stick if the mainland US starts to get a grip on the current coronavirus surge. That, however, appears to be a little unlikely as cases continue to spike with few signs of the virus abating. The mainland US continues to set records for new case numbers. This has led airlines, not just Hawaiian but Delta as well, to reduce their flight schedules across the mainland. Unfortunately, this is some bad news for airlines looking for a little reprieve.
Do you think Hawaii will open up from September 1st? Let us know in the comments!
