tap island

US carriers tap island resources

WHILE major American carriers are cutting or streamlining oper ations in the South Pacific, Ha waiian Airlines is expanding and taking new initiatives.

From April it introduced new weekly schedules to three Polynesian ports incorporating non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Pagopago as well as between Honolulu and Tonga.

Hawaiian’s director of corporate communications, Keoni Wagner, said the airline also had plans to start a weekly between Honolulu and Apia.

He asserts that there is increasing demand for passenger traffic and also outbound and inbound cargo from the three island destinations - Ameri can Samoa, Western Samoa and Tonga.

Thousands of Polynesians from the region live in Hawaii or California.

Air New Zealand which provides a crucial link from the South Pacific to the American West coast also com menced a weekly return flight con necting Honolulu with Auckland via Apia and Nuku’alofa.

• Northwest Airlines, another American giant, is also eying new routes in the Central Pacific with emphasis on Micronesia. From next month it will add daily non-stop jet flights between Honolulu and Guam, against Continental Airlines and Air Micronesia.

Northwest has plans to add daily services between Guam and Seoul and several weekly schedules between Agana and Japanese island of Okinawa.

Northwest president John Dasburg said some of the main Pacific routes have been under-served and the new flights would boost traffic.