Brief History of Hawaii Airlines

Hawaii airlinesThe history of interisland travel and the Hawaii airlines companies that provide it is a long and storied one. Starting over 80 years ago with Inter-Island Airways (now Hawaiian Airlines), people in Hawaii have long had a viable way to travel between the islands. In 1946, Trans-Pacific Airlines (later known as Aloha Airlines) began serving the islands with a single DC-3, which flew from Honolulu to Maui and Hilo.

The jet engine era hit Hawaii when Aloha Airlines retired its last DC-3 in 1961, becoming just the second airline to operate an all-turbine fleet. Hawaiian Airilnes followed suite in 1966, when it started flying Douglas DC-9 aircraft. Those planes cut the transit times on most routes in half, heating up the intense rivalry between these two carriers that would continue for the next 50 years.

The larger and faster aircraft now used by Hawaiian Airlines put Aloha Airlines at a distinct disadvantage, prompting them to upgrade their fleet in December of 1967. Aloha purchased two 737-200’s, which went into service in March of 1967. Although the new fleet put the two airlines on relatively equal footing, the increased capacity hurt both airlines and in 1970, the first of three unsuccessful merger attempts was made.

In 1985, Hawaiian Airlines became the first Hawaii airlines to offer mainland service, offering regularly scheduled flights between Honolulu and the west coast of the United States. Aloha Airlines followed suite in 2000, when they began flying new Boeing 737-700’s between Hawaii and Oakland, CA. They quickly expanded their offering, adding regularly scheduled flights from Hawaii to Orange County, Sacramento, Reno and Las Vegas.

Hawaii airlines

Also in the mid-80’s, Aloha Airlines Chairman Hung and vice-Chairman Sheridan Ing took the Hawaii airlines private. In 1987, they acquired Princeville Airways, renaming it Aloha Island Air, to serve some of the smaller destinations in the islands.

Hawaiian Airlines upgraded their long-haul fleet in the 90’s, switching from the aging Lockheed L-1011 to McDonnell Douglas DC-10’s acquired from American Airlines. American also provided maintenance on the DC-10’s and started providing reservation services to Hawaiian Airlines through their SABRE reservation system.

Hawaiian Airlines again upgraded their fleet in 2002-2003, when they replaced the DC-10’s with new Boeing 767’s. They also replaced the McDonnell Douglas DC-9’s that were flying interisland with new Boeing 717’s.

In 2004, suffering from the economic impact of the 9-11 attack and the 2003 SARS scare, Aloha Airlines was forced to file for bankruptcy. They emerged two years later, but faced an aggressive new competitor in Go! Airlines (operated by parent Mesa Airlines), who had launched an aggressive fare war. In 2008, Aloha Airlines was forced back into bankruptcy and on March 30, 2008, Aloha ceased operations.

Interisland travel in Hawaii is now served primarily by Hawaiian Airlines, with a little competition from Go! and a few smaller carriers. There are rumors floating around that other mainland carriers are considering entering the market (Southwest – Hawaii, anyone?) but for now, Hawaiian Airlines is enjoying the status of the dominant Hawaii airlines company.

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