Hawaiian Airlines Celebrates 80 Years of Service for Hawaii

HONOLULU, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Airlines, the pioneering carrier of
the Pacific and one of the nation's longest-serving carriers, today celebrated
its 80th anniversary of continuous service for Hawaii.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091112/LA10039)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040827/LAF044LOGO)

Hawaiian's airport stations statewide were decorated to recognize the historic
occasion, and arriving passengers at Honolulu International Airport were
greeted with fresh flower lei and serenaded with live Hawaiian music.

Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO, noted the significance of the
anniversary and thanked employees and customers. "Hawaiian Airlines has been
flying since essentially the dawn of commercial aviation and has weathered the
turbulence of a stormy business over 80 years. That is a remarkable
achievement in itself, considering all the iconic airlines in history that
never reached this milestone," said Dunkerley.

"It is a credit to our dedicated employees and our loyal customers that we are
able to celebrate Hawaiian's rich 80-year history in aviation and envision a
promising future as we work to continue growing and diversifying our service,"
Dunkerley said.

Hawaiian's 80th anniversary year has been devoted to giving back to the
community. In May, the company presented a $150,000 cash and in-kind donation
to Bishop Museum that includes the transporting of museum curators and
educators to schools and communities on the Neighbor Islands through 2011 in
support of its Holoholo Science educational outreach program.

During summer and fall, Hawaiian partnered with The Nature Conservancy of
Hawaii on a series of projects to help restore native Hawaiian habitats on
Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. In addition, Hawaiian is promoting the
message of environmental conservation through its inflight video and other
communication channels, and has provided a $10,000 gift in support of the
Conservancy's programs.

Other 80th anniversary year highlights for Hawaiian included the restoration
and returning to Hawaii of the company's original airplane, a 1929 Bellanca
CH-300 Pacemaker, and introducing new employee uniforms with a contemporary
print design linked to Hawaii's culture and history.

This past Saturday, November 7, Hawaiian hosted its 80th anniversary employee
celebration at Bishop Museum, a daylong festival attended by more than 4,000
employees and family members featuring games and activities, free food, and a
concert by Raiatea Helm, The Makaha Sons, and Cecilio & Kapono.

On November 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways (the company changed its name to
Hawaiian Airlines in 1941) launched Hawaii's first-ever scheduled interisland
air 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.

The company's inaugural flight 80 years ago from Honolulu to Hilo, with a stop
on Maui, took more than three hours. The first flight to Kauai was made the
following day and all the Hawaiian Islands were soon receiving air service on
a regular basis.

Along with being Hawaii's first commercial airline, Hawaiian's 80-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 Hawaii's first aircraft with pressurized passenger cabins
in
1952.
-- Introducing Hawaii'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 Hawaii-based airline to offer scheduled service
between
Hawaii and the mainland U.S. in 1985.

Today, Hawaiian has a fleet of 33 aircraft -- 15 Boeing 717-200 jets for
interisland flights in Hawaii and 18 Boeing 767-300 wide-body jets for
transpacific and international service. Hawaiian is on pace to carry more than
eight million passengers in 2009 -- its largest total ever.

Next April, Hawaiian will begin phasing in its next fleet of long-range
aircraft with the arrival of the first two of up to 15 Airbus A330-200 jets it
has on order or option, along with up to 12 "extra wide body" A350XWB-800
aircraft that are scheduled to begin arriving in 2017.

About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian is the nation's highest-ranked carrier for service quality and
performance in 2008 in the 19th annual Airline Quality Rating study. Hawaiian
has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past
five years (2004-2008) and has been an industry leader in fewest misplaced
bags during that same period (#1 from 2005-2007, #2 in 2008) as reported by
the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Conde Nast
Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian as the top
domestic airline serving Hawaii.

Now in its 81st year of continuous service for Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's
biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of
passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on
the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S.
gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the
Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides
more than 160 daily jet flights within the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:
HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines

Keoni Wagner of Hawaiian Airlines, +1-808-838-6778,
Keoni.Wagner@HawaiianAir.com