Hawaiian Airlines reaffirms commitment to Japan

Hawaiian Airlines today reaffirmed its commitment to Japan and its broader plan of expansion in Asia. President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Dunkerley said, “The earthquake and the tsunami which hit Japan on March 11 devastated the littoral communities in North Eastern Japan. All of us at Hawaiian send our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones and who themselves face an uncertain future as the process of rebuilding gets underway. As a company, and as citizens of an ocean side community with close ties to Japan, we have a special connection to those in need in Japan and we are engaged in a broad array of efforts aimed at supporting them as they rebuild their lives. We wish we could do more.

“While other airlines have announced service reductions to Japan, we have no plans to reduce our daily service to Tokyo, and we remain committed to launching new service to Osaka beginning July 12. It is clear from our current results that we are seeing a significantly less severe downturn in traffic than is being reported by other companies in the airline and tourism sectors. At the same time, discussions with our travel partners in Japan indicate that while a downturn is currently upon us, they expect a recovery in bookings after a short interval.”