Code Shares With Mainland Majors Smooth Connections
MEETINGS TODAY
<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>Code Shares With Mainland Majors Smooth Connections </B>
By Marcie Carroll
Code-sharing agreements between Hawaii's two primary inter-island carriers-Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian-with United and Northwest, respectively, promise more seamless air bookings for planners who need to move groups from Honolulu to the Neighbor Islands. While Aloha and United have code-shared for some time, the deal between Hawaiian and Northwest was inked this summer.
When a travel planner or agent pulls up a Hawaii-bound United flight from the CRS, the information shows a direct connection and the ticket is booked through a single United code, although the inter-island links are provided by Aloha.
The Hawaii connections also let the mainland carrier passengers accrue mileage credits for their full flights and any other inter-island flights on Aloha and Hawaiian.
"It has worked very well for us," said United spokesman Joe Hopkins. "We can't serve all the places our customers go." United does have direct flights to Maui and Keahole-Kona on the Big Island as well, but Hopkins sees no conflict with its code-sharing partner. "We complement each other," he said. "We bring the preponderance of business to Honolulu, and that's where Aloha takes over. They do a good job."
Aloha, which dominates the inter-island market and recently observed its golden anniversary, is pleased with the agreement that has brought plenty of United passengers its way during the past four years, said Jim King, Aloha vice president for planning and development. King anticipates business will increase even more as the new Hawaii Convention Center is completed and opened for business in 1998.
Aloha flies between the main Hawaiian Islands: Oahu-where Honolulu is located-Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii.
Hawaiian, meanwhile, has the distinction of being on both sides of code-sharing agreements. The 66-year-old carrier transports Northwest's inter-island traffic, so that travel arrangers booking a Northwest flight from New York to Lihue, Kauai, use one Northwest code. Since Hawaiian also flies to the mainland, it code-shares with a third inter-island carrier, Mahalo Airlines, for trips to Kapalua, Maui and Molokai. Hawaiian also has a marketing alliance and frequent flyer mileage pact with American Airlines.