Hawaiian Airlines celebrates 85 years of flying

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) yesterday (November 11) celebrating its 85th anniversary of continuous service for the Hawaiian islands and 85 years of flying as an airline.

Hawai’i’s first interisland passenger service was launched on November 11, 1929 as Inter-Island Airways (see video above), with a flight from Honolulu to Hilo, which took a total of one hour and 40 minutes. The first flight to Kaua’i was made the following day and all the Hawaiian Islands were soon receiving air service on a regular basis. During this time, the first inflight treat offered to passengers was a stick of Wrigley gum to relieve ear pressure. The 85-year-old airline is reviving that in-flight amenity by handing out Wrigley’s Doublemint® gum, which is also celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, along with a commemorative postcard and historic logo stickers to more than 12,000 passengers on all of its neighbor island flights.

Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines has also published a special commemorative book highlighting 85 years of its history and legacy which will be available for sale online at Shop.HawaiianAirlines.com in late November.

Winners of Hawaiian Airlines’ social media contest series were given free rides throughout the day on the airline’s original airplane, a 1929 Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker (above), which was restored in 2009 in celebration of the company’s 80th anniversary.

Hawaiian Airlines’ 85th anniversary has been devoted to giving back to the community. In September, the airline unveiled a memorial wall at Kahului Airport honoring Capt. James Bertram Hogg, the pilot whose name was used for the airport’s three-letter code (OGG) (see video below). The event kicked off a three-month-long celebration that continued with an all-day community event in early October at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii in Hilo, the airline’s first destination. On November 8, Hawaiian Airlines also showcased all of its flight attendant uniforms dating back to 1943 with a fashion show at Honolulu Fashion Week.

Throughout the month of November, Hawaiian Airlines Team Kōkua will be participating in statewide community service projects on the islands of Hawai’i, Maui, O’ahu and Kaua’i, restoring agricultural and historical sites.

Looking Back at Hawaiian Airlines’ 85-Year History:

On November 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways (the company changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines in 1941) launched Hawai’i’s first-ever scheduled interisland air passenger service using two Sikorsky S-38 amphibian propeller planes that carried eight passengers and two crewmembers, and had a top cruising speed of 110 MPH.

Along with being Hawai’i’s first commercial airline, Hawaiian Airlines’ 85-year history of service has featured several other notable achievements, including:

Introducing airmail and air cargo service to the Hawaiian Islands in 1934.
Becoming America’s first federally certified air cargo carrier in 1942.
Introducing Hawai’i’s first aircraft with pressurized passenger cabins in 1952.
Introducing Hawai’i’s first interisland jet aircraft in 1966.
Becoming the nation’s first airline to operate a commercial flight with an all-female flight crew in 1979.
Being the first Hawai’i-based airline to offer scheduled service between Hawai’i and the U.S. Mainland in 1985.

Today, Hawaiian Airlines’ route network encompasses six of the eight Hawaiian Islands, as well as 11 International and 11 U.S. Mainland destinations. Hawaiian Airlines operates a fleet of 51 aircraft – 18 Boeing 717-200 jets for interisland flights in Hawai’i; 11 Boeing 767-300 and 19 Airbus 330-200 wide-body jets for transpacific and international service; and three ATR 42 for its new turbo prop service ‘Ohana by Hawaiian that launched earlier this year.

Hawaiian Airlines will have three more A330s joining the fleet by the end of 2015. By the end of year 2020, the airline plans to have 22 A330s total and 16 new narrow body A321neo aircraft. The airline will begin taking delivery of six new A330-800neo aircraft in 2019.

Hawaiian Airlines aircraft slide show:

Video: How OGG became the airport code for Kahului: