Route Analysis: Honolulu-Sydney

Hawaiian Airlines plans to resume its 5X-weekly service between Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD) in December as Australia begins to reopen its borders to international travelers. The route has been suspended since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Flights are slated to restart on Dec. 13, departing HNL on Mondays and Wednesday through Saturday at 11:50 a.m. and arriving at SYD approximately 7:45 p.m. the next day. The return service will depart SYD on Tuesdays and Thursday through Sunday at 9:40 p.m. with a 10:35 a.m. scheduled arrival at HNL.

Hawaiian will operate the SYD-HNL route with its 278-seat Airbus A330 aircraft, which features 18 premium cabins, 68 extra comfort seats, and 192 economy seats.

Currently, only Australian citizens and returning permanent residents and their immediate family members are permitted to enter Australia without an exemption. However, the country is preparing to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers over the coming weeks.

Although entry requirements for the state of Hawaii are yet to be announced, Hawaiian said it hopes the state will align itself with US government rules requiring international arrivals to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure effective Nov. 8.

Hawaiian started SYD-HNL service in May 2004 and provided daily service before the coronavirus crisis, offering about 3,900 two-way weekly seats. Qantas and Jetstar also served the route pre-pandemic, with Qantas’ service scheduled to resume in mid-December.

Hawaiian’s 3X-weekly service between HNL and Brisbane (BNE), which launched in November 2012, remains paused.

HNL-SYD

Photo credit: joepriesaviation.net