United Airlines halting all flights to Hawaii

Beginning Monday, United Airlines will be end flights between Orange County’s John Wayne Airport and Honolulu, Hawaii, due to a decrease in demand. Some pre-booked flights in June between the two destinations will be the exception.

United Airlines spokesman Mike Trevino said that this particular route began in March 2010, just before the onset of a merger in October of that year between United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The merger operated as United Continental Corp. until last month, when the Federal Aviation Administration awarded United Airlines with a single operating certificate.

According to JWA spokeswoman Jenny Wedge, all eight airlines at JWA have been approached to pick up the route, but none have pursued it for financial reasons.

“We had some pretty good service to Hawaii back in 2007,” Wedge said Thursday, “and even before that by Aloha Airlines, which ran five flights a day and was very popular, but then Aloha went out of business in 2008 and no other airlines have been able to pick up that market.”

Wedge also noted that the decrease in usage of this route by Orange County residents is unusual, as other national mainland carriers are increasing their service to the archipelago destination state.

United also recently ended services between JWA to Kahului, Hawaii, for similar reasons.

— Jenny Stockdale

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