Come November, Hawaiian Airlines will cease operations on three “underperforming” routes, the company announced Tuesday.
The airline will suspend service between Honolulu and Incheon, South Korea; Fukuoka, Japan; and Boston, Massachusetts this fall. The final day for flights from Fukuoka and Boston to Honolulu will be November 19, while the last day for Incheon to Honolulu trips will be November 21.
“It’s always a difficult decision to suspend a route, especially in cities like Seoul, which we have enjoyed serving for over 14 years. However, despite our team’s best efforts, soft post-pandemic travel demand from Asia combined with various market challenges have persisted in Seoul, as well as in Fukuoka and Boston, both of which we entered in 2019,” said Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague, via Hawaii News Now.
“These adjustments will ensure we are meeting strong demand for travel to Hawaii – both internationally and domestically – while providing all our guests access to more destinations.”
A history of ‘underperformance’
Planes that had flown the three discontinued routes will instead be redeployed on busier routes, Hawaiian Airlines said.
The service to Fukuoka has been running three times weekly, with Boston four times and South Korea five times. According to Hawaiian Airlines regional communications Alex DaSilva, all three routes had been substandard.
“The underperformance has persisted for several years – and not just year-over-year – on all three routes being discontinued,” Da Silva said. ”We wanted to see if the combination with Alaska Airlines could improve them, but after nearly a year into our combination, and after months of review and unfruitful efforts to stimulate the markets, we are making the decision to suspend service this November.”
What’s coming next?
Some of the redeployed aircraft will be used to fortify Hawaiian’s routes between Honolulu and Sydney, Australia, Papeete, Tahiti, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Hawaiian will increase its Honolulu-to-Sydney service from five flights weekly to daily service from December 18 through January 31, 2026. The airline will also double its service to Papeete, running two weekly flights starting in March 2026.
Hawaiian will also add a fifth daily flight between Honolulu and Los Angeles for two periods during peak holiday travel season: November 21 to December 1 and December 19 to January 6.
Finally, the airline will debut a fourth daily flight from Honolulu to Seattle from late November to mid-April.
