ONTARIO -- It's looking like direct flights from Ontario to Honolulu are here to stay.

The daily flights offered by ATA Airlines, which began service April 28, are a hit with travelers, according to officials and airline data.

"We're very excited that they're here. They're the only flights (to Hawaii) out of Ontario airport," said ONT spokeswoman Maria Tesoro-Fermin. "We support them, and we do whatever we can to keep their passenger travel up."

From ATA's standpoint, the flights have exceeded expectations in their popularity with travelers, said the airline's Rick Hightower.

"For the flight that we have, people have responded to it," Hightower said. "Is every flight going out full? No. ... But people have responded."

According to data from Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Ontario International Airport, the flights averaged significantly more than 100 passengers per landing from May through July.

In fact, during June, more than 8,700 passengers took ATA's direct flight between ONT and Honolulu, meaning the flights were an average of 90 percent full. In July, the flights averaged 91 percent full.

Keeping the flights relatively full during the summer months is easy, Hightower said. However, maintaining that level of interest in later months will be more of a challenge.

"Since Labor Day, things have slowed down quite a bit," he said.

Several airlines offer indirect service from ONT to destinations in Hawaii, typically with stops in Denver, Oakland, Phoenix or elsewhere.

Nonstop flights from ONT to Hawaii have been tried with limited success in years past. Hawaiian Airlines began service from ONT to Maui in 2002, but canceled those flights two years later due to low demand.

ATA's flights are operated on a codeshare basis with Southwest Airlines, meaning passengers can book their travel with either airline, and the flights will operate out of Southwest's gates. Southwest is ONT's largest carrier, handling half of the flights into and out of Ontario.

Hightower said there are no immediate plans to add more flights from ONT to Hawaii, but ATA will do more in the future to promote the service.

He cited a recent promotion in which Daily Bulletin readers who brought a certain advertisement to a kiosk at Ontario Mills received free round-trip tickets to Honolulu.

"When we put service in, we intend to stay there, and we intend to grow it," Hightower said.