Hawaiian Airlines inaugurated its latest domestic long-haul flight on Friday. The first flights between Orlando and Honolulu aboard a Hawaiian Airlines aircraft were launched on Saturday, March 13. Although this inauguration was met with much fanfare and celebration, the airline announced that not everything was to be shown. High customer demand is driving the airline to increase service from Orlando to Honolulu to three times a week this summer.
Hawaiian Airlines inaugurates first flights from Orlando to Honolulu
On Saturday, March 13, Hawaiian Airlines inaugurated a new domestic long-distance route from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Honolulu International Airport (HNL). The airport was busy, and Hawaiian celebrated in Orlando to celebrate its first flights.
Peter Ingram, CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said the following about the launch of the new route:
“We are excited to introduce our award-winning Hawaiian hospitality to our guests in Florida, so that they can begin their vacation on the island as soon as they embark. We are delighted to offer Hawaii travelers the unmatched convenience of our nonstop service from Honolulu to Orlando, a popular destination for our kama’āina (residents). “
The new flights from Orlando to Honolulu depart on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 8:15 am and arrive at 2:05 pm in Hawaii; all times are local. From there, passengers can connect to an Hawaiian Airlines intra-island service or end their trip in Honolulu. This flight has the number HA85.
Aloha, @HawaiianAir! Today’s first Honolulu flight was greeted with a salute by the water in celebration of this incredible addition to our airport ‘ohana. pic.twitter.com/vr42bnVY9i
– Orlando International Airport (@MCO) March 12, 2021
HA86, which operates from Honolulu to Orlando, departs on Thursdays and Sundays at 5:15 pm local time and arrives in Orlando at 7:00 am the next day, local time.
Hawaiian uses an Airbus A330-200 on this route. This aircraft is configured with 18 first class reclining seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Behind this cabin, there are 68 economy seats with extra legroom, followed by 192 standard economy seats. This is a total of 260 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, which is ideal for families and leisure travelers.
Hawaiian is growing services on this route
The current biweekly operation will grow later this year. From June 1 through August 10, the airline will operate between Orlando and Honolulu three times a week. The airline replied that it was doing so after seeing customer demand for flights.
This summer, additional flights will depart from Orlando to Honolulu on Thursdays and depart from Honolulu to Orlando on Tuesdays.
Florida and Hawaii are two popular tourist destinations. Especially during the pandemic, with most passengers choosing to stay at home, Hawaii is a fantastic outdoor destination with beaches, resorts and outdoor excursions, depending on the island that passengers choose to visit. For Hawaiians, the new flight allows them to visit Orlando theme parks and resorts nonstop.
Hawaiians flights from Orlando to Honolulu also allow the carrier to indirectly serve the Tampa area, which is a driving distance from Orlando, without the need to operate two direct flights to Hawaii. The large metropolitan area around Orlando and Tampa combined has a population of more than five million people, which means a fairly large origination market from Florida to Hawaiian.
In the coming months, the airline has temporarily suspended services to Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. With most of these flights operating on Airbus A330, the company now has many spare aircraft. Instead of letting them sit on the floor, the airline is using them to connect new destinations, including Austin in Texas and, of course, Orlando, Florida. If these flights perform well, the airline will likely maintain them in the long run, and Orlando appears to be doing very well for now.
Domestic long distance routes from Hawaii
This is the only nonstop service between Orlando and Hawaii and is one of the longest domestic routes in Hawaiian. However, it is not the longest in the Hawaiian system.
The airline also operates long-haul routes to New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS), with flights to Boston being the longest non-stop domestic route on a regular basis. This makes Orlando the airline’s third gateway to the east coast of the United States.
Did you fly on inaugural flights to or from Orlando? Are you flying with Hawaiian Airlines between Orlando and Honolulu? Let us know in the comments!