Hawaiian Airlines has formed an interline partnership with regional carrier Mokulele Airlines, enabling Hawaiian to offer some of the inter-island routes that it lost when it terminated its subsidiary Ohana during the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the bilateral interline agreement, customers will be able to book connecting flights through either carrier on a single ticket. This will improve connections between the Mokulele regional network and the broader Hawaiian Airlines domestic and international network.
Mokulele is Hawaii’s largest regional/commuter airline, serving 10 destinations around the Hawaiian islands. The airline will connect with Hawaiian Airlines flights via Honolulu (HNL). The smaller airline, which is a subsidiary of Southern Airways, mainly operates Cessna 208B Grand Caravans.
There are six points on the Mokulele network that are not already operated by Hawaiian Airlines. They include the islands of Lanai and Molokai, and Kapalua (JHM) on the island of Maui.
These three destinations were formerly served by Ohana. Ohana operated four ATR 42s on passenger routes from neighboring islands to Honolulu. Due to the pandemic, the carrier’s Kapalua flights were suspended in March 2020, and the Molokai and Lanai passenger flights were suspended in January 2021.
Hawaiian later decided to permanently close Ohana before the planes reentered service. When Ohana was shut down, Mokulele assured the US Transportation Department that it would be able to increase service on the Lanai and Mokulele routes to help meet demand. Southwest Airlines also offers interisland service in Hawaii, flying its Boeing 737-8s between Honolulu and: Lihue (LIH) on Kauai; Kahului (OGG) on Maui; and Kona (KOA) on the island of Hawaii.
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