HONOLULU - Airline seats and flights to Kahului for the July to September quarter are expected to show double-digit percentage increases from the same quarter last year, according to a Hawaii Tourism Authority report.
The third quarter outlook, released Monday, estimates seats to Kahului to increase 10.2 percent over last year, to 461,900 seats. The number of flights for the quarter is expected to grow 11.3 percent, to 2,418 flights, compared to last quarter.
The Kahului growth estimate is part of the statewide trend with HTA projecting a 12.6 percent hike in seat capacity for the third quarter, to 2.7 million, when compared to 2011. Flights for the quarter are expected to grow 12.4 percent, to 12,234.
"This increase is attributed by growth from domestic and most of Hawaii's major international source markets, including new flights from New York and Washington, D.C., as of June 2012," said the report.
"With the anticipated increase in total air seats, third quarter seat capacity to the state is on track to reach record levels and exceed prior peak 2007 levels by 2.6 percent."
The projections are based on flights appearing in OAG and Diio Mi airlines schedules as of June 2012.
Maui's strongest sector, travelers from the U.S. West, drove the projected increase while other regions showed declines from last year.
For Kahului arrivals, a 12.7 percent increase in seats is projected from the U.S. West for the third quarter, to 423,729 seats. The largest numbers of seats come from Los Angeles with 160,248 seats, a 20.8 percent increase from the same quarter last year; San Francisco, 59,160, up 31.4 percent; and Seattle, 43,594, up 15.9 percent.
The number of seats projected from San Jose, 27,800, is 92.5 percent higher than the same quarter last year.
The flights totals from the U.S. West to Kahului show similar patterns. A 13.8 percent increase is projected for the quarter, to 2,228 flights from the U.S. West. Flights from Los Angeles are projected to lead the way with 808 flights, up 17.1 percent from the same quarter last year; San Francisco is estimated to have 300 flights to Kahului in the quarter, up 55.4 percent; and Seattle, 222 flights, up 20.7 percent.
All other departure regions are expected to show declines, though their combined number of seats pales in comparison to the U.S. West. Seats from the East to Kahului are projected down 10.7 percent, to 22,314 seats, for the quarter when compared to last year; down 12 percent, to 15,857, in the international sector; down 12 percent from Canada, to 15,857 seats.
For flights for these regions, the projections for the quarter are down 10.1 percent, to 98 flights, from the East; down 12.4 percent, to 92 flights, from international areas; and down 12.4 percent, to 92 flights, from Canada.
