Hawaii tourism officials and a leading aviation analyst believe that strong demand for Hawaii travel will cause airlines to add service that will compensate for the recent shutdown of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines this week.

"Hawaii remains an extremely popular vacation destination with January and February hotel occupancy averaging more than 80 percent statewide and increases in arrivals over the same period a year ago," said John Monahan, president and CEO of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), the state's tourism marketing agency for North America. "We believe that airlines will respond to this strong demand for Hawaii and that visitors and residents will continue to enjoy convenient travel between the U.S. mainland and around our state."

Scott Hamilton, a Washington state-based aviation industry expert with Leeham Company LLC, said, "I don't see any threat to Hawaii's tourist market from the mainland from the failures for ATA and Aloha Airlines. At most there will be a short-term decline in seats from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines has already announced some new service and it wasn't too long ago that Alaska Airlines entered Hawaii markets from the Mainland. I believe you'll see some selected route additions such as these. The bigger threat, if any, will be from fuel pricing."

Yesterday, Hawaiian Airlines announced that effective May 1, it will begin daily Boeing 767 service to Oakland, a major market for Hawaii travel formerly served by Aloha Airlines and ATA.

"The primary focus for the next few days will be to help stranded ATA passengers find return flights to the U.S. mainland," said Monahan. "Many of Hawaii's hotels are offering special rates to ticket holders who are forced to extend their stays and the state is working closely with the airline community to find ways to get people home."

Just today, the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state's tourism agency, issued a request for proposal for airline services to accommodate passengers who are unable to secure alternative flights following the shutdown. HTA will help underwrite flights for the next few days due to the unique conditions in this situation.

HVCB is keeping travelers informed of airline and hotel options on its website at GoHawaii.com.

According to HVCB, most of the visitors stranded by the closure of Aloha Airlines on March 31 have either returned to the U.S. mainland or have bookings to do so. Travel between the islands is proceeding remarkably well due to the addition of almost 10,000 seats by the remaining three major interisland carriers.

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