Hawaiian Airlines to end Honolulu-Orlando route a year after its launch

Hawaiian Airlines is suspending its Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) service 16 months after it was launched.

It is the only non-stop service between the two popular US tourist destinations.

The HNL-MCO route has been operated twice weekly by Hawaiian (HA) using an Airbus A330. With a flight time of around 9 hours and 30 minutes, it is considered one of the world’s longest domestic routes.

The inaugural flight took place in March 2021.

The airline’s last scheduled departure from MCO will be on September 7, 2022, and the final return flight to HNL will be on September 8, 2022.

The airline attributed the route suspension to “re-aligning” its network.

“This is a result of re-aligning our network to better meet strong demand in North America and the resurgence of international travel,” a Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson told local media.

With the ‘resurgence of international travel’, it is likely that the airline will use the A330 to operate its more lucrative international routes.

Starting August 1, 2022, Hawaiian (HA) will resume its daily service to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), and will increase its service to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) from thrice weekly to daily flights. The airline also plans to boost its HNL to Osaka Kansai (KIX) service to daily flights from its current three times weekly service. All these transpacific flights will be operated on an Airbus A330.