Hoping to take advantage of the expanded visa waiver program with South Korea, Hawaiian Airlines announced a new expanded code-share agreement with Korean Airlines.

Starting June 15, Hawaiian will place its "HA" booking code on flights operated by Korean between Incheon and Honolulu, and on flights between Incheon and Busan in South Korea as well as points in Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Travel between Hawai'i and Korea is expected to increase following last year's move to ease visa restrictions on South Koreans visiting the United States.

"This new agreement is all part of increasing Hawaiian's presence in Asia, expanding our relationship with Korean Airlines, and could lead to complementary service by Hawaiian in the future," said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian.

The agreement represents an expansion on an existing code-sharing agreement between the two airlines. The carriers began their code-sharing relationship in 2007, which allowed Korean to put its "KE" booking code on Hawaiian's flights among the islands of Hawai'i and between Hawai'i and the Mainland.

Between 50,000 and 55,000 visitors traveled to Hawai'i from South Korea last year, according to estimates provided by Hawaiian.

That's up from 42,000 in 2007, according to the airline.

Over the longer term, Hawaiian said it expects the new visa waiver to increase visitor counts from Korea between 15 percent and 40 percent.