Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is the flag carrier and largest airline of Hawaii. It is the 11th largest commercial airline in the country, based in Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii.^[2][3] The airline operates its main hub at Honolulu International Airport and a secondary hub out of Kahului Airport on the island of Maui.^[1] Hawaiian Airlines is owned by Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Mark Dunkerley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Holdings.^[4]

Hawaiian has never had a fatal accident in its entire history, nor has it ever had an accident with a hull loss, and is the oldest US carrier with such a distinction in both fields.^[5] Hawaiian Airlines was the number one on-time carrier in the United States from November 2003 until November 2006, when rival Aloha Airlines took the number one spot, pushing Hawaiian to a close second.^[6][7] The airline has also frequently been number one in fewest cancellations, baggage handling, and fewest oversales. Hawaiian Airlines has been rated the best carrier serving Hawaii by Travel + Leisure,^[8] Zagat, and Condé Nast Traveler.^[9]

History[link]

This section requires expansion with: more info for events that took place before 2005.

Early years (1929–1966)[link]

A Bellanca CH-300, similar to the one which Inter-Island Airways used for its inaugural service

Inter-Island Airways, the forerunner of the airline which is now known as Hawaiian Airlines, was incorporated on January 30, 1929. Inter-Island Airways, a subsidiary of Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, began operations on October 6, 1929 with a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker, providing short sightseeing flights over Oʽahu.^[10][11] Scheduled service began a month later on November 11 using Sikorsky S-38s with a flight from Honolulu to Hilo, via intermediary stops on Molokai and Maui.^[12]

On October 1, 1941, the name was changed to Hawaiian Airlines^[13] when the company phased out the older Sikorsky S-38 and Sikorsky S-43 flying boats.

Jet age and route expansion (1966–1994)[link]

In 1966 jet travel started with the acquisition of Douglas DC-9 aircraft, which cut travel times in half on most of the routes. In 1984 the company began to operate charter services to the South Pacific using Douglas DC-8 aircraft, and soon added Lockheed L-1011 aircraft to the fleet for West Coast services. As the west coast market grew, the South Pacific market shrunk, and service was reduced when the company's DC-8s were retired in 1993; and when the L-1011s were replaced by the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1994.

Aircraft equipment change (1994–2003)[link]

The DC-10s were obtained from American Airlines, who continued to provide maintenance on the aircraft. An agreement with American also included converting to American's SABRE reservation system and participation in American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program. The DC-10s were retired between 2002 and 2003.^[5] The company replaced these leased DC-10s with 14 leased Boeing 767 aircraft during the fleet modernization, and replaced the DC-9s with Boeing 717 aircraft.

Reorganization (2003–2005)[link]

Hawaiian Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 21, 2003 with operations still continuing, and at the time was overdue for $4.5 million USD worth of payments to the pilots' pension plan. Within the company, it was suggested that the plan be terminated. As of May 2005, Hawaiian Airlines had received court approval of its reorganization plan. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection on June 2, 2005, with reduced operating costs through renegotiated contracts with its union work groups; restructured aircraft leases; and investment from RC Aviation, a unit of San Diego-based Ranch Capital, which bought a majority share in parent company Hawaiian Holdings Inc in 2004.

Further expansion (2005–present)[link]

Passengers boarding a Hawaiian Boeing 717–200 at Kona International Airport for an inter-island flight

On October 1, 2005 Hawaiian Airlines began nonstop daily flights from Honolulu to San Jose, California. This made San Jose the fifth gateway city in California to be serviced by Hawaiian; the others were Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco.^[15]

On May 4, 2006 Hawaiian Airlines announced expanded service between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii in anticipation of the induction of four additional Boeing 767–300 aircraft, primarily focused on expanding non-stop service to Kahului Airport from San Diego, Seattle, and Portland. Additional flights were also added between Honolulu and the cities of Sacramento, Seattle and Los Angeles.

On July 24, 2007 Hawaiian Airlines and Air New Zealand signed a $45 million contract for Air New Zealand to perform heavy maintenance on Hawaiian's Boeing 767 aircraft. The contract is to last for five years. Air New Zealand stated that this opportunity will also give a chance for them to build their expertise working on 767s.^[16]

This Hawaiian 767–300 wears the Oakland Raiders logo on its forward fuselage

On August 27, 2007 the airline announced plans to launch flights to Manila in the Philippines. Hawaiian Airlines said it will begin nonstop service to the Philippines in March 2008, in the first major international expansion since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2005.^[17][18] In response to the closure of ATA Airlines and Aloha Airlines, the airline announced new flights to Oakland beginning on May 1, 2008.^[19]

In August 2007 the Seattle Seahawks announced that they would be flying on Hawaiian Airlines for the upcoming National Football League seasons. This marks the second team that Hawaiian Airlines will be flying. The Oakland Raiders of the NFL have also been flying Hawaiian Airlines since the 1990s. The two teams fly on Hawaiian's Boeing 767s to and from all their games. Two of Hawaiian's Boeing 767 aircraft have been fitted with decals of logos from the Seahawks and the Raiders.

On February 16, 2010, Hawaiian Airlines announced that they will seek approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin nonstop flights from its hub at Honolulu to Tokyo-Haneda sometime in 2010. The airline is one of the 5 US carriers (the others being Delta, Continental (Until it merged with United), United, and American) seeking approval to serve Haneda as part of the U.S.-Japan OpenSkies agreement.^[20] Approval was granted from USDOT to begin nonstop service to Haneda, Japan. The flight began service on November 18, 2010.^[21] In addition, the airline is planning to establish a codeshare agreement with All Nippon Airways.^[22]

On June 30, 2010, Hawaiian Airlines announced they would begin nonstop service to Seoul-Incheon, South Korea. Flights began on January 12, 2011.^[23]

On February 14, 2011, Hawaiian announced that it will add Osaka, Japan to its network, with flights beginning July 12, 2011.^[24]

On March 31, 2011 Hawaiian announced that they will be renovating the check-in lobby of the inter-island terminal at the Honolulu International Airport (Hawaiian's main hub). Hawaiian, the only occupant of the inter-island terminal, will be removing the traditional check-in counter, to install six circular check-in islands in the middle of the lobbies. Those check-in islands can be used for inter-island, mainland, and international flights.^[25]

On September 13, 2011 Hawaiian announced that it will continue its expansion in Asia by adding Fukuoka, Japan to its network, with flights beginning April 16, 2012 pending approval from the Japanese government.^[26]

On November 16, 2011 Hawaiian announced that it will expand to the east coast with daily flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning on June 4, 2012.^[27]

On November 17, 2011 Airbus and Hawaiian announced that they had signed a firm order for five additional Airbus A330-200.^[28]

On May 9, 2012 Hawaiian announced that it will expand in Japan with route to Sapporo. That will be Hawaiian's fourth destination in Japan. Hawaiian plans to begin this route on November 1, 2012, pending government approval.^[29]

Corporate affairs[link]

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA) is the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.^[30]

Destinations[link]

Hawaiian Airlines serves destinations in several Asia-Pacific countries and territories. The airline added its sixth international destination, Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea on January 12, 2011.^[23] It also has daily and weekly direct, non-stop international flights from Honolulu to Tahiti, Australia, Philippines and Japan.

Fleet[link]

As of November 2010, the Hawaiian Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 12.5 years:^[4][31][32]

A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 at Tokyo Haneda International Airport in 2011.

^A 3 lease orders.

Retired Fleet[link]

Throughout its history, Hawaiian Airlines has operated a diverse range of aircraft including the following aircraft:^{[14][page needed][33]}

Long haul fleet renewal[link]

On November 27, 2007, Hawaiian Airlines signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Airbus for 24 long-range jets priced at $4.4 billion. The order includes six Airbus A330-200s with a further six purchase rights; and six Airbus A350-800s with a further six purchase rights. Deliveries for the A330s begin in 2010 while the first A350 will be delivered in 2017.^[35] Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of the airline has stated that the addition of the A330 aircraft will finally make nonstop flights to the U.S. East Coast economically feasible, as the current Boeing 767s face weight penalties during parts of the year.

These new Airbus A330s will be equipped with Panasonic Avionics Corporation's new eX2 in-seat audio/video-on-demand in-flight entertainment system.^[36]

On October 27, 2008, Hawaiian announced that prior to the arrival of its new A330s, it would lease two additional Airbus A330-200 aircraft from AWAS beginning in 2011, at the same time extending the leases of two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft from AWAS to 2011 (to be withdrawn from service coincident with the delivery of the A330s).^[37] Two weeks later, the airline announced the lease of an additional A330-200 from CIT Aerospace for delivery in 2010 and that one of the A330s coming from AWAS would also be delivered in 2010.^[38] On March 9, 2010, the airline announced that it had converted one of its purchase rights into an order scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2011.^[39] In December 2010 Hawaiian ordered an additional six A330-200 aircraft to the six A330-200 already ordered and three already in service.

Fleet adjustments following Aloha Airlines and ATA shutdowns[link]

Shortly after the Aloha Airlines shutdown, Hawaiian used one of its Boeing 767-300ER wide-body aircraft (normally used for trans-pacific flights), for several inter-island flights (which Hawaiian normally uses its narrow-body Boeing 717) due to the large number of stranded Aloha passengers needing flights to the other Hawaiian islands.

A Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767–300, christened "Akohekohe", similar to the one used to transport stranded Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines passengers and flight crews.

On April 30, 2008, Hawaiian's President and CEO commented during a quarterly conference call that Hawaiian Airlines was in talks to acquire additional aircraft to meet demand due to the shutdown of Aloha Airlines' passenger operations and the closing of ATA Airlines. No firm agreements had been signed, but two options were given for the inter-island fleet: Leasing additional 717s from existing lessors or leasing McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft on short-term leases. If the MD-80 had been chosen, it would have been the second time Hawaiian Airlines used that aircraft in its history. Hawaiian previously flew a small number of MD-80 aircraft during the 1980s. Also mentioned was a letter of intent for the acquisition of an additional Boeing 767-300ER to join the fleet.^[40]

On June 4, 2008, the airline announced that it had agreed to lease an additional four 717s from Boeing Capital, with deliveries between September and the end of 2008.^[41]

HawaiianMiles[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

HawaiianMiles is Hawaiian Airlines' frequent-flyer program. Miles accumulated in the program allow members to redeem tickets, upgrade service class, or obtain free or discounted car rentals, hotel stays, merchandise, or other products and services through partners. The most active members, based on the amount and price of travel booked, are designated Pualani Gold and Pualani Platinum, with privileges such as separate check-in, priority upgrade and standby processing, or complimentary upgrades.

Hawaiian also has frequent-flyer partnerships with several other airlines, allowing HawaiianMiles members to earn credit for flying partner airlines and/or members of partner airline frequent flyer programs to earn credit for Hawaiian flights. Some partnerships restrict credit to only certain flights, such as inter-island flights.

Note

• ^1 JetBlue partnership takes effect on June 5, 2012.

Hawaiian Airlines stock[link]

Hawaiian Airlines trades under parent company Hawaiian Holdings under the NASDAQ Global Market stock symbol HA. Previously listed on the American Stock Exchange, the company moved to NASDAQ on June 2, 2008.^[44] Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. is a holding company whose primary asset is the sole ownership of all issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. On June 30, 2008, the company announced that it had been added to the Russell 3000 Index.^[45]

In-flight services[link]

Hawaiian provides complimentary and paid beverage service on all of its flights. Meals are not provided on interisland flights due to their short length (30–40 minutes). On its U.S. mainland and international flights, Hawaiian is one of the only major U.S. airlines to still provide complimentary meals in its main cabin (coach class); each meal is made with no preservatives, all-natural ingredients and packaged with recyclable materials.^[46] In 2009, Hawaiian introduced premium meals in its main cabin, giving passengers the option of having the complimentary meal or paying to upgrade to a premium meal. The premium meals consist of a variety of high end Asian cuisine, among others.^[46][47]

In March 2007, Hawaiian introduced a "tasting menu" or "tapas menu" for its first class passengers on its U.S. mainland and international flights. The menu consists of twenty entrees set on a rotation, with five available on any given flight. Passengers are provided information on the available entrees for their flight when they board, or shortly after takeoff, and may choose up to three entrees as part of their inflight meal.^[47][48]

On Boeing 767 aircraft, Hawaiian offers DigE Player portable video players for rent, in addition to movies shown on overhead projection screens. Airbus A330 aircraft are equipped with on-demand units built-in to every seatback.

See also[link]

	Hawaii portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hawaiian Airlines

• Hawaiian Airlines official website