Instead, its Alaskan owner now said it would pay more attention to the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n
Hawaii Tourism Authority data showed fewer Kiwis had been visiting the island state of the United States during the southern summer.<\/p>\n
In the first two months of this year, Hawaii had 5086 visitors by air from New Zealand, down from 7303 visitors a year earlier.<\/p>\n
In February this year, there were 21 scheduled flights with 5811 seats from Auckland, compared with 23 flights with 6496 seats a year earlier.<\/p>\n
But capacity from the western US to Hawaii was up 12.2% on the previous year, according to the tourism authority.<\/p>\n
In January, capacity from New Zealand was down 1.1% compared with a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Spending in January and February by New Zealanders was down to US$9.9 million ($17.02m at today\u2019s exchange rate) from US$19.7m a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Longer-term trends more starkly illustrate the fall in demand.<\/p>\n
It seems the glamour and adventure Magnum PI epitomised may not have been enough to boost NZ visitor numbers to Hawaii.<\/p>\n
For all of 2024, barely 38,000 of Hawaii\u2019s visitor arrivals by air were from New Zealand.<\/p>\n
That compared with about 50,000 the year before that, and a pre-pandemic peak of more than 90,000.<\/p>\n
Since early 2021, the kiwi dollar has been on a mostly downward slide against the greenback.<\/p>\n
That might make New Zealand a more attractive destination for US tourists, but it makes Hawaii more expensive for Kiwis.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s decision comes less than eight months after Hikianalia, an Airbus A330-200, arrived in Auckland<\/a> to restart direct flights to Honolulu.<\/p>\n Auckland Airport today said Hawaiian Airlines had been a valued airline customer since 2013, providing an Auckland\u2013Honolulu seasonal service to travellers in recent times.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve enjoyed a strong partnership with Hawaiian Airlines over that time, and while we\u2019re sorry to see them go, we wish them all the very best for the future,\u201d an airport spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Auckland Airport said Auckland\u2013Honolulu passengers would still have direct, year-round options with Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n Air NZ operated the service three to four times a week.<\/p>\n \u201cTravellers also have the option of a one-stop alternative to Honolulu via Nadi with Fiji Airways.\u201d<\/p>\n