Aloha, Delta expand service to Maui

Aloha Airlines today announced year-round, daily service between San Diego (SAN) and Maui, and also added the only direct link between San Diego and Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO). Meanwhile, Delta Airlines recently announced a new route between Maui and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). Aloha’s new service will begin Dec. 15; Delta’s in May of next year.

“We’re excited to be able to expand the Aloha brand of service to this dynamic part of Southern California,” said Aloha’s acting president and CEO Brenda F. Cutwright.

The new Aloha routes will use Boeing 737-700 aircraft, with 12 First Class and 112 Coach seats. Aloha has been serving Reno since July 2003, and as of this winter, it will offer three flights a day from the airport.

Officials at the Reno airport were especially pleased with Aloha’s announcement, saying San Diego was its largest unserved market.

“Residents of the Truckee Meadows have been calling for non-stop service to San Diego for years, and today Aloha Airlines and Reno/Tahoe International have answered the call,” said airport head Bill Newberg. “Whether it’s for business, the beaches or the zoo, San Diego is now just a 90-minute non-stop flight away from Reno.”

Aloha flight 475 will leave Reno daily at 6:30 a.m., arriving in San Diego 90 minutes later. It then departs for Maui at 8:46 a.m., landing in Kahului at 12:40 p.m. The return trip, Aloha flight 476, is scheduled to leave Maui minutes later, at 12:50 p.m., arriving in San Diego at 7:49 p.m., and leaving for Reno about an hour later, arriving there at 10:16 p.m.

Aloha Airlines also announced special one-way fares starting at $149 between San Diego and Maui and $69 for the Reno leg.

Delta’s new Maui-Salt Lake City service will complement its existing service between Salt Lake City and Honolulu, and between Los Angeles and Maui.

“This new flight is a response to customer demand for additional non-stop service to Hawaii from our hubs,” said Delta VP Doug Blissit. “It also provides a new Hawaiian destination for our customers in Salt Lake City or customers connecting through Salt Lake City.”

“Our current service between Salt Lake City and Honolulu has been very popular and we expect this new flight to be popular as well,” he added.

Delta is offering fare specials starting at $598 between Maui and Salt Lake City.