Earlier this week, it was announced that Jin Air will be partnering with Island Air to offer inner-island connections from Seoul, Korea. This Korean airline will also resume their flights from Honolulu to Seoul five times a week starting May 29th. They paused this route due to maintenance on their Boeing 777 but it will be up and running very soon. We, at The Bratton Team, feel this announcement is a big step forward for Hawaiian-Korean relations especially when it comes to the commercial real estate market. As of now, Korea is our second biggest foreign real estate buyer and we are so excited that there will be flights 5 times a week directly to Honolulu. That means a lot more opportunities to sell and deal with these foreign investors, which could move Korea up to the number one spot over the next 5-10 years.
Last year, the single biggest purchase in Hawaii commercial real estate was made by a Korean investment company and this announcement will only continue this trend. We’ve noticed that our Korean investors have become more aggressive in the island market, as well as markets across the US. This partnership seems like a step in the right direction because Jin Air is going to bring so many more possible investors directly into Honolulu and Island Air will be able to connect those investors to the other islands seamlessly. As Dave Segal wrote in the Star Advertiser, “The agreement, which goes into effect today, means customers traveling on Jin Air between Honolulu and Seoul can connect to a neighbor island on Island Air, booking the reservation on a single ticket and checking luggage through to their final destination. The two airlines will have three interline routes, including Incheon-Honolulu-Kahului, Incheon-Honolulu-Kona and Incheon-Honolulu-Lihue. Jin Air will start interline sales today.” It will be an easy booking process for these potential investors and tourists. We are excited for the opportunities for the commercial real estate market, as well as the opportunities for our economy and tourism on the islands! We can’t wait to see what great things this partnership will bring to Hawaii.