Instead, its Alaskan owner now said it would pay more attention to the Pacific Northwest.
Hawaii Tourism Authority data showed fewer Kiwis had been visiting the island state of the United States during the southern summer.
In the first two months of this year, Hawaii had 5086 visitors by air from New Zealand, down from 7303 visitors a year earlier.
In February this year, there were 21 scheduled flights with 5811 seats from Auckland, compared with 23 flights with 6496 seats a year earlier.
But capacity from the western US to Hawaii was up 12.2% on the previous year, according to the tourism authority.
In January, capacity from New Zealand was down 1.1% compared with a year earlier.
Spending in January and February by New Zealanders was down to US$9.9 million ($17.02m at today’s exchange rate) from US$19.7m a year earlier.
Longer-term trends more starkly illustrate the fall in demand.
It seems the glamour and adventure Magnum PI epitomised may not have been enough to boost NZ visitor numbers to Hawaii.
For all of 2024, barely 38,000 of Hawaii’s visitor arrivals by air were from New Zealand.
That compared with about 50,000 the year before that, and a pre-pandemic peak of more than 90,000.
Since early 2021, the kiwi dollar has been on a mostly downward slide against the greenback.
That might make New Zealand a more attractive destination for US tourists, but it makes Hawaii more expensive for Kiwis.
Today’s decision comes less than eight months after Hikianalia, an Airbus A330-200, arrived in Auckland to restart direct flights to Honolulu.
Auckland Airport today said Hawaiian Airlines had been a valued airline customer since 2013, providing an Auckland–Honolulu seasonal service to travellers in recent times.
“We’ve enjoyed a strong partnership with Hawaiian Airlines over that time, and while we’re sorry to see them go, we wish them all the very best for the future,” an airport spokesperson said.
“Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company, has advised us that their decision to exit the Auckland-Honolulu market is due to macroeconomic factors, elevated fuel prices, and changing travel patterns.”
Auckland Airport said Auckland–Honolulu passengers would still have direct, year-round options with Air New Zealand.
Air NZ operated the service three to four times a week.
“Travellers also have the option of a one-stop alternative to Honolulu via Nadi with Fiji Airways.”
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.
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