(So much for Abercrombie’s doom and gloom)

News Release from Hawaii Tourism Authority

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) has released its Airline Seat Capacity Outlook Report for April-June 2011, taking into account any changes following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. The HTA forecasts moderate growth in total scheduled nonstop air seats to Hawaii in the second quarter based on:

• · Total scheduled nonstop air seat capacity to Hawaii in the second quarter is expected to be relatively even (-0.4%) with prior year levels due to increases from U.S. West, Australia and South Korea that has offset the reductions in service from Japan and U.S. East;
• · Scheduled air seats from Japan are expected to decrease 10.5 percent in the second quarter, resulting from Japan Airlines (JAL) downsizing of its aircraft in the Hawaii market from B747-400s to B767s, along with temporary reductions in JAL and Delta Air Lines flights following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan;
• · The reduction in scheduled service from Japan could be partially offset by Golden Week charter flights to Hawaii scheduled to occur in late April/early May. These charters, operated by JAL and Korean Air, are expected to add more than 5,000 seats into the market;
• · The reduction in service from Japan not only negatively impacts Japanese visitor traffic to Hawaii, but also impedes travel to Hawaii from other Asian markets, such as China, which travel to Hawaii via Japan;
• · Increasing seat inventories from Asia, Oceania and Canada are expected to more than offset second quarter capacity reductions from Japan, edging Hawaii’s overall international seat count for the period to 3.5 percent above prior year levels;
• · New service by Hawaiian Airlines and increased service by Korean Air are expected to more than double the number of available air seats to Hawaii from South Korea;
• · The doubling of Hawaiian Airlines flights from Sydney is expected to fuel a 43.5 percent increase in overall seats from Australia;
• · Increases from Air Canada and WestJet are slated to grow second quarter capacity from Canada by 13.9 percent;
• · On the domestic front, scheduled air seat capacity from U.S. West is expected to rise 1.2 percent in the second quarter, boosted by an increase in service from San Francisco (5.6%), along with new and increased service from Oakland, San Jose, Denver, Phoenix, Bellingham and Anchorage;
• · In the second quarter, Continental Airlines will launch its nonstop service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Hilo. The new flights will provide an estimated 3,925 seats into Hilo during the month of June. Hilo has not had nonstop air access to the U.S. Mainland since ATA suspended service from Oakland in April 2008;
• · The slight gain in U.S. West capacity is offset by declining air seats from the eastern region of the nation;
• · Scheduled nonstop seats from U.S. East are expected to decrease 20.3 percent in the second quarter, with the majority of the year-over-year decline resulting from the suspension of flights from Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit and b which slightly offset gains in service from Atlanta (3.4 percent) and Chicago (5.4 percent); and

Right now, total scheduled air seat capacity for the second quarter of 2011 is expected to be at 90 percent of same period in 2007, which included additional flights that supported three cruise ships providing service to Hawaii.

Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said in a statement that the HTA's projections show that despite an anticipated decrease in airlift from Japan, the overall number of air seats should be relatively flat compared to the same period last year. "This is an indicator that interest in travel to Hawaii remains strong and mirrors our strategy of driving increased demand, and particularly from destinations such as the U.S. West, Korea and Australia," he said.

"We understand that the situation in Japan is constantly evolving, and we will continue to evaluate the impact on airlift and provide this information to our marketing partners, Hawaii's tourism industry and the entire state. This is one way that the HTA can support businesses and other organizations in our community as they develop their plans to address the market conditions over the coming months."

For a copy of the complete Airline Seat Capacity Outlook Report for April-June 2011, visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/research.