USA: Hawaiian Longest Domestic Nonstop Flight In USA Starts April 4th 2019

Hawaiian Airlines begins nonstop flights between its hub in Honolulu (HNL) and Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS) starting on April 4, 2019.

This new flight will becomes longest domestic route in the history of the United States, measuring 4427.43nm. The HNL-BOS route beats the current HNL-JFK route that the airline operates, which is at 4330.10 nm.

But the route between Boston and Honolulu falls short by almost 800 miles to become the world’s longest, which is the Paris-Reunion route (5,047.88 nm), served by Air Austral and Air France.

Approximate flying time between Boston and Honolulu will be at 11 hours, 40 minutes.

Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines CEO, said that he looks forward to sharing our warm hospitality with our New England guests whose vacation starts the minute they check in and step onto our plane.

The airline plans to introduce this route on a 4 times a week basis. According to Hawaiian, the Boston-Honolulu market generates over $76 million in ticket sales every year, on average 500 passengers flying between these cities every day.

Hawaiian is a unique airline because we have represented Hawai‘i for nearly a century while flying people to, from and between the Hawaiian Islands.

In July, the Hawaiian carrier also announced daily nonstop flights between Sacramento, California (SMF) and Kahului, Maui (OGG), set to begin on April 1, 2019.

The carrier’s growth has gained a higher momentum this year, following the order for 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, featuring 10 firm and 10 purchase rights, at list prices of $2.82 billion.

On top of that, the carrier took delivery of its first U.S-Produced Airbus A321neo, straight from the manufacturer’s assembly line in Alabama.

As the carrier receives a total of 18 A321neos through 2020, they will be looking to announce additional routes between the U.S. West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines notes that the new Boston service will depart HNL every day but Tuesday and Wednesday at 13:45 Local Time. and arrive at BOS the following morning at 06:00 Local Time.

Flight HA91 will depart BOS every day but Wednesday and Thursday at 08:55 Local Time., except for Friday flights, which will depart at 08:00 Local Time.


Tourism Observer

USA: Virgin Atlantic To Commence Las Vegas London Flights Next Year

Virgin Atlantic has announced plans to launch flights to Las Vegas (LAS) from London-Heathrow (LHR), effective on March 31, 2019.

These new flights to LAS are being transferred from London-Gatwick (LGW) to LHR’s Terminal 3, in which Virgin has a significant presence.

The LGW flight used to be operated with the airline’s Boeing 747-400 but the new LHR operation will be operated with the much newer and efficient 787-9 Dreamliner.

Even though it’s a drop in capacity, the airline will now offer more premium seats and their signature Dreamliner product.

Virgin Atlantic have made some route announcements as follows:

- Flights to Las Vegas will now operate from London Heathrow on March 31st, 2019, on the same day that LGW operations to LAS stop, signalling a transfer of flights.

The 787-9 that Virgin will be using for this route will have a three-class configuration, offering 31 Upper-Class Seats, 35 Premium seats and 192 economy seats.

The flight will depart LHR at 12:40 local time and arrive in LAS at 19:05 local time.

In addition, there will be a second daily service to Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS), which will be operated with an Airbus A330-300.

The flight will depart LHR at 20:30 local time, arriving in BOS the next morning at 08:30 local time.

Barbados will also be returning to the network, operating between December 2018 and February 2019 with the airline’s A330-300.

Aircraft in use for LHR-LAS: 787-9 Dreamliner compared to the 747-400 indicating a capacity drop.

- A second daily LHR flight to Boston is to be added also using an A330-300.

- A winter Seasonal service to Barbados will also be operated from LHR also.

From spring 2019 we’re making it even easier for customers to travel from London-Heathrow to Las Vegas and Boston by introducing new flights.

The new services have been timed to offer convenient onward connections for UK and US customers, and feature our award-winning service, a three-course meal and in-flight entertainment on every flight, said Shai Weiss, Chief Commercial Officer for Virgin Atlantic.

We’re also pleased to bring back our popular seasonal service between London-Heathrow and Barbados to offer even more choice for holidaymakers, she added.

The fact that the flights from Gatwick to Las Vegas will be terminated in March 2019 must indicate the growth at Heathrow must be stronger than at Gatwick.

For the likes of Boston, the second daily route is largely due to the rise in demand of business travelers flying to that city more frequently, as well as it being heavily advertised as a tourist destination within the UK.

The Barbados route, however, will be returning due to its overall success in the winter season, although it seems that a year-round service from Heathrow will be on the cards when the demand for the route grows overall across the entire year.


Tourism Observer