Hawaiian Airlines : Timeline

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Hawaiian Airlines 75 Years of Service - Timeline

See History

The following are key historic dates in the early aviation history of the Territory of Hawaii and the 75-year history of Hawaiian Airlines.

BRIEF HISTORY OF AVIATION IN HAWAII

1910		First flight in territorial aviation piloted by J.C. "Bud" Mars flying "Honolulu Skylark," P-18 Curtiss Biplane.



1911		First seaplane in islands believed to have been flown by Tom Gunn who assisted in China's and Japan's aviation.



1917		Army brought three N-9 seaplanes to Fort Kamehameha at entrance to Pearl Harbor.



1925		Navy pilots flew three PN 9-A seaplanes from San Francisco to Honolulu. Commander John Rodgers was one of those 3 pilots; killed the following year in an airplane accident. John Rodgers Airport is the forerunner of today's Honolulu International Airport.



1927		First civilian flight in a Travelair flew from Oakland and crash-landed on Molokai--but they made it.



1935		Amelia Earhart flew the first solo from Honolulu to Oakland.



1936		Pan American Airlines flew passengers from San Francisco to Hawaii using Martin-130 flying boats.



1960		Advent of commercial jet service between the mainland and Hawaii.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES HISTORY

1905		James Kennedy of Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company merged with Wilder Steamship Co. to become the largest fleet of steamers serving Hawaii.



1928		Stanley C. Kennedy, a Silver Star Navy pilot, convinced the board of directors of Inter-Island Steam Navigation of the importance of air service to the Territory and formed Inter-Island Airways.



1929		October a Bellanca monoplane offered sightseeing service for $5 per person. The original Bellanca has been restored in Oregon.



1929		On November 11, Inter-Island Airways, Ltd. launched FIRST scheduled air service in Hawaii. First scheduled flight from Honolulu to Hilo with stops on Molokai and Maui took three hours, 15 minutes. Airline began at the time of the Great Depression.



1929		Fleet consisted of two, 8-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplanes.



1930		10,367 passengers carried.



1934		FIRST Interisland airmail service contract went to Inter-Island Airways.



1935		Added 16-passenger Sikorsky S-43s.



1935		13,000 passengers carried.



1938		28,000 passengers carried.



1941		Name changed to Hawaiian Airlines to pave the way for trans-Pacific operations. Wings logo adopted.



1941		Three new, 24-passenger DC-3s were flown in formation from Oakland, CA to Honolulu in 13 hours and 54 minutes--the then longest over-water flight ever made by a DC-3.



1941		December 7th, HA DC-3 #9 with 24 passengers had its cockpit straffed by Japanese fire at Pearl Harbor. The cockpit was on fire; a stray bullet hit the cockpit fire extinguisher putting out the fire. No one was hurt and this event made Ripley's "Believe It Or Not".



1942		HA became the FIRST scheduled air cargo service and has U.S. Cargo service certificate #1.



1943		FIRST stewardess hired.



1943		108,000 passengers carried.



1950		The National Safety Council presented HA with a 20-year award; the first airline in history to win this award.



1952		FIRST pressurized, air-conditioned cabin service with 44-passenger Convair 340s costing $520,000 each.



1955		Five DC-3s converted windows to larger "Viewmaster" windows.



1955		I'iwi bird became part of HA logo.



1958		Long-range, four-engine DC-6s were added.



1959		498,861 passengers carried.



1966		Hawaii's FIRST interisland jet service with 99-passenger DC-9-10s.



1966		Logo changed to a Jetbird to symbolize change over to jet service.



1973		Pualani (flower of the sky) and new unified livery introduced.



1975		130-passenger DC-9-50s added to fleet.



1977		3,000,000 plus passengers.



1979		FIRST all-female crew to operate a certified U.S. scheduled flight.



1983		Frequent Flyer program began as Travel Plus.



1984		Worldwide charter service with DC-8s and scheduled service to the South Pacific.



1985		Widebody L-1011 aircraft added to fleet.



1985		HA launches scheduled service between West Coast and Hawaii.



1986		Frequent flyer program renamed Gold Plus.



1994		Widebody DC-10s replaced the L-1011 fleet.



1996		HA Web site activated.



1998		E-ticketing launched.



1999		Frequent flyer program renamed HawaiianMiles.



2001		Boeing 717s replaced the DC-9 fleet.



2001		Pualani symbol and livery updated for introduction of new fleet.



2002		Boeing 767s replaced all DC-10s making Hawaiian Airlines' fleet among the youngest in the industry.



2003		"Hele On" Self Check-In at airports launched.



2003		"Hele On" Web Check-In launched.

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