Hawaiian Airlines adding 5 new Bay Area-Maui flights this summer

Hawaiian Airlines is boosting its service between the Bay Area and Maui by 70 percent this summer, adding a total of five new flights to the island.

The carrier currently operates four weekly Maui flights from Oakland and three from San Jose, on top of its extensive schedule of flights to Honolulu.

"This increased schedule is part of the expanded service we are offering through our new Maui hub," Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Ann Botticelli said Tuesday. "It allows us to route passengers through Maui to other destinations throughout the Islands without going through Honolulu International, which is more crowded.

"We have seen very robust demand from Oakland to all points in Hawaii."

Under the new service:

Daily flights will be offered from Oakland International Airport from July 1 through Aug. 21. Hawaiian's flight will depart at 8:10 a.m. and arrive in Maui at 10:25 a.m. The return flight will leave Maui at 12:05 p.m. daily and land in Oakland at 7:55 p.m.

Service from Mineta San Jose International Airport will increase to five times weekly. From July 4 through Aug. 19, the flight will leave San Jose at 8:40 a.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, arriving in the islands at 10:55 a.m.

Return flight offerings to San Jose vary: On Mondays and Thursdays, it will be a 2:55 p.m. flight that will land in San Jose at 10:45 p.m. On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, it will be a 12:25 p.m. departure from Maui, with an arrival time of 8:15 p.m.

All flights between the Bay Area and Maui are on Boeing 767 aircraft.

In conjunction with the announcement, Hawaiian is offering a fare sale, with $498 round-trip tickets available from either San Jose or Oakland to Maui. The offer also includes free flight connections to and from Honolulu; Kauai (Lihue); and the Big Island (Kona and Hilo). Tickets must be bought by Friday, March 23, viawww.HawaiianAirlines.com or 1-800-367-5320.