Those of us in Hawaii (and many Southern California residents) were sad to see Aloha’s demise and the discontinuation of Hawaii service from John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
I’ve been predicting that Alaska would be the natural to jump into these routes as they have been slowly working their way down the Gold Coast (with Oakland starting in November).
Continental brings a swift halt to Alaska Airlines’ Hawaii expansion today, with these preemptive moves.
It’s no coincidence that all new flights announced will use 737 aircraft, as with Aloha and Alaska. Â These rather uncomfortable, single isle, 160-seat planes give Continental more flexibility for smaller, less dense markets (like Orange County).
Announcing Continental’s New Orange County (SNA) Service to Honolulu.
Beginning in March, Continental will initially operate four days a week, departing Orange County at 5:20 p.m. and arriving in Honolulu at 8:05 p.m. The return flight departs Honolulu at 11:10 p.m. and arrives at Orange County at 7:45 a.m.
Continental has even more Hawaii destinations planned.
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Cindy Barthi says
Sad? about Aloha??? That doesn’t begin to describe the devastation Orange County residents felt regarding the demise of Aloha….we were profoundly wounded and really thought HI Governor Lingle should have stepped in for a rescue. (Many states have done this for carriers in exchange for other employment perks kept within the home state)
We were once again, held hostage by the nightmare, otherwise known as, LAX. Nevermind our family’s loss of approximately 190,000 frequent flier miles. We were so relieved to have reliable, courteous air transportation in our own backyard, we couldn’t get to Maui fast or frequently enough. To have it taken away as an option was an enormous blow!
I could cry tears of joy at this news about Continental…