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Hawaii Aviation history
Hawaii Aviation company history timeline
Hawaiian's inaugural flight was on November 11th, 1929 from Honolulu to Hilo, stopping off at Maui on the way.
We've been an integral part of life in Hawaii for generations, and it all started back in 1929 with our original fleet of two 8-seater Sikorsky aircraft and a Bellanca monoplane.
Inter-Island introduced airmail service between Oahu (site of Honolulu), Hawaii, and Kauai in 1934.
By 1935, Hawaiian had bolstered its fleet considerably with the addition of 16 Sikorsky S-43 planes.
It wasn't until 1941 that the airline changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines in preparation for an expansion of its transpacific network.
Wally Waterhouse arrived there two weeks after the last Pan Am China Clipper discontinued service in 1946 and knew in his heart that Hawaii was the place for him.
Competition had landed in the islands with the 1946 creation of Trans-Pacific Airlines, forerunner of Aloha Airlines.
The year 1948, replete with “firsts,” was one for the record books.
Following what seemed like a promising start, cancellation of the company’s insurance due to aerial spraying drift problems caused 1948 to end on a dismal note.
Murrayair incorporated in 1950 and began work for Libby McNeil spraying pineapples on Oahu, Molokai and Maui.
Phil Murray brought over a few more Stearmans in 1952 because the company had begun the aerial application of fertilizer.
Myra Ho joined the company in 1953 and became the mainstay of the organization.
George Roth of Texas A&M joined the company in 1954 and solved a number of technical problems for it.
By 1958, Phil had sent the company a dozen Stearmans from California.
A single four-engine DC-6 purchased in 1958 allowed the carrier to operate long-distance military charters.
Bob Fraker, the Pacific area manager for Cessna Aircraft, joined the company in 1964.
The airline launched its first inter-island jet service in 1966 with its fleet of 85-seater DC‑9‑10s.
In 1966, booming residential and tourist traffic prompted Hawaiian to begin operating the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, the first jet turbine aircraft to be used on inter-island flights.
The company by 1967 was again using helicopters and had developed mobile landing and take-off platforms mounted on the backs of trucks.
Wally and Bill conducted flight tests in 1969 of the new MA-1 aircraft that George Roth had designed.
Although Hawaiian typically was able to bring the newest, most advanced aircraft to the market, competition with Aloha reduced both carriers' margins so severely that the two agreed to merge in 1970--a plan which was abandoned the next year.
Bob Fraker began O.K. (Oahu and Kauai) Air using Cessna 402s to fly between Honolulu and Princeville, Kauai, in 1974.
The Princeville developer bought a couple of DeHavilland Twin Otters in 1980, and he and Fraker founded Princeville Airways which eventually became Aloha Island Air.
In 1982, Hawaiian adopted the corporate name HAL.
Along with the new South Pacific scheduled routes, overseas charter services were offered in 1984 with the company's three DC-8s.
Hawaiian Airlines became the first Hawaii-based carrier to operate transpacific flights in 1985.
The company built the West Maui Airport in 1987.
A group of investors led by Jet America founder J. Thomas Talbot bought a 46.5 percent stake in HAL for $37 million in 1989.
In 1990, Condé Nast Traveler pronounced the airline one of the world's safest after a 20-year survey.
Losses for 1991 amounted to $99 million (including a one-time accounting charge of $36.7 million).
Challenges against the airline mounted in 1991.
As if ferocious competition and high fuel costs were not enough to deflate the company's tentative comeback, Hurricane Iniki chased away an estimated $7 million of HAL's business in 1992.
In 1993, the company sold the DC-8s that it had used on South Pacific flights, resulting in more modest Polynesian coverage.
In 1994, the first DC-10s arrived to take over from Hawaiian's DC-8s.
The company resumed its old name of Hawaiian Airlines as it emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1994, still able to fly but also susceptible to chronic cash shortages.
New York's Smith Management Co. provided $20 million of desperately needed cash in 1996.
In February 1997, Bruce Nobles stepped down as CEO to be replaced by travel executive Paul Casey.
The company lost $2.4 million in the first quarter of 1997 and $4.1 million for the previous year, thanks to a 20 percent increase in fuel prices.
In 2017, Hawaiian Airlines received the first of 16 Airbus A321neos in a significant revamp of its fleet.
The airline is also in for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, placing an order for 10 787-9s (and the option for 10 more) back in 2018.
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Hawaii Aviation, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Hawaii Aviation. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Hawaii Aviation. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Hawaii Aviation. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Hawaii Aviation and its employees or that of Zippia.
Hawaii Aviation may also be known as or be related to Hawaii Aviation and Hawaii Aviation Contract Services.