Hawaiian Airlines has a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and a new in-flight safety video that’s 7 minutes long.
The new video is filled with important safety information, of course.
But Hawaiian Airlines’ new safety video also features scenes from all four major Hawaiian islands – Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi.
The new video also features 57 new and original cast members, including teenagers or adults who were keiki (children) in the airline’s 2015 safety video.
Take a look.
On Sunday, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines announced a plan to merge in a deal that has line Alaska Airlines buying Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.
“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai‘i travelers,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines CEO in a statement.
Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO said, “Since 1929, Hawaiian Airlines has been an integral part of life in Hawai‘i, and together with Alaska Airlines we will be able to deliver more for our guests, employees, and the communities that we serve.”
While many details are still unknown, and some are likely to change before the deal officially goes through (a 12 to 18-month process) here are some of the highlights of this weekend’s announcement, from a message sent to customers on Sunday evening by Alaska’s Ben Minicucci:
The brands will remain: The Virgin America name was retired after it was purchased by Alaska Airlines. But Alaska Airlines says it plans to keep the Hawaiian Airlines brand on airplanes, at airports, and elsewhere. “It will exist alongside the Alaska Airlines brand, supported by a single operating platform and industry-leading loyalty program,” Minicucci said in his statement.
There will be more destinations: The deal will bring a combined network of 138 destinations, including non-stop service to 29 international destinations such as Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Auckland, as well as over 1,200 global destinations through the oneworld Alliance, Alaska notes in its statement. The combined airline will have a fleet of 365 narrow- and wide-body airplanes, according to Alaska.
Headquarters to remain in Seattle: The new combined organization will be based in Seattle and headed by Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, but Honolulu will become a new key hub.
What about ticket prices? There is where this deal could have a downside. “Competition between airlines is the single biggest cause of cheap flights,” notes Going’s Scott Keyes, “A merger between these two airlines—whose route maps have dozens of flights that overlap—would result not in more cheap flights for consumers, but fewer.”
On Sunday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), which represents over 6,800 Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines and 2,200 Flight Attendants at Hawaiian Airlines, released a statement:
“Our first priority is to determine whether this merger will improve conditions for Flight Attendants just like the benefits the companies have described for shareholders and consumers. Our support of the merger will depend on this.
“As a practical matter, our union Constitution and Bylaws provides a detailed process for this review with AFA leadership from each airline. Mergers take time – this will not happen overnight. Our union will continue to press forward in negotiations at Alaska Airlines. Alaska Flight Attendants, joined by Hawaiian Flight Attendants, will be on the picket line on Dec. 19 as holiday travel takes off.”
Hawaiian Airlines operates thrice-weekly flights between Austin and Honolulu and to promote the service the airline is hosting a contest with a grand prize of enough HawaiianMiles to fly First Class roundtrip between Austin and Honolulu. Plus a five-night stay at The Prince Waikiki Hotel.
The contest runs September 30 and October 1. To participate, entrants must visit Austin outdoor shopping center The Domain, peer into a series of virtual airplane windows that will give the illusion of landing in Honolulu, and then complete a scavenger hunt to find other airplane windows.
One grand prize winner of The Window Seat activation will win the equivalent miles for two First Class roundtrip tickets and a stay at The Prince Waikiki Hotel. Other prizes include fresh flower lei, Hawaiian Airlines travel swag, and 120,000 HawaiianMiles. And everyone giving the scavenger hunt a try will be offered complimentary shave ice. See contest details here.
Getting ready for some leaf peeping? Get in the mood with this 39-step maple leaf origami project from the pages of Origami Odyssey, by Peter Engel.
Hawaiian Airlines has inked a deal with Starlink, the SpaceX satellite network, to provide complimentary high-speed internet onboard flights between the islands and the continental U.S, Asia, and Oceania as early as next year.
The airline plans to equip select Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft, as well as an incoming fleet of Boeing 787-9s, with Starlink’s satellite internet connectivity service.
“We waited until technology caught up with our high standards for guest experience, but it will be worth the wait,” said Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram, in a statement.
If you are passing through Chicago’s O’Hare or Midway Airport anytime soon, be sure to stop by an info desk to ask for one of the free activity and coloring books. The books are available in English and Spanish and can be downloaded as well.
The deals team at Stuck at The Airport loves creative travel campaigns, free stuff, and prizes.
And Visit Indiana Week, which runs May 1-7, has it all.
Admission is free to all Indiana State Parks on May 1. That also happens to be the Hoosier State’s free fishing day as well.
Throughout the week, anyone who checks in using the Indiana State Nature Passport becomes eligible for a grand prize that includes a 2022 State Parks Pass, a $50 gift card for camping, and a subscription to Outdoor Indiana magazine.
Indiana also has a Culinary Trails Passport and throughout May, anyone who checks in on the I Scream for Ice Cream Trail is eligible to win a gift card from one of the trail stops, courtesy of Indiana Foodways Alliance.
The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu is taking major steps forward in sustainability just in time for Earth Day, which is coming up on April 22.
As part of a major energy-savings project for the airport, 2,980 photovoltaic panels are now installed on the 5th floor of the Terminal 2 (formerly the Overseas Terminal) garage.
Last year, 4,260 solar panels were installed on the 7th floor of the airport’s Terminal 1 parking garage.
“The completion of this phase of photovoltaic panel installation, along with the previous improvements, will reduce the airport’s electric bill by nearly half.” said Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Jade Butay.
HDOT is working with Johnson Controls Inc. on a major energy savings project that includes replacing nearly 98,000 light fixtures with high-efficiency light-emitting diode (LED) technology and energy efficient lighting, upgrading ventilation and air-conditioning systems and installing more than 24,000 solar photovoltaic panels.
Given all the sunshine in Hawaii, harnessing solar power at HNL airport makes perfect sense!
Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines and Carbon Lighthouse, a clean energy services company, are working together on a pilot energy-saving project at the Hawaiian Airlines Airport Center, located near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
Hawaiian Airlines bought the 14-story office building — famous for its iconic whale murals — in 2016 and leases some of the space to tenants and occupying about 20,000 square feet for office space.
To make the building more energy efficient, Carbon Lighthouse is deploying sensors throughout Airport Center to collect data on everything from air and water temperature and flow rates in HVAC equipment to lighting and occupancy.
Using that information, plus weather, utility and other data, Carbon Lighthouse will identify way to reduce waste and optimize the energy use of the building.
Here’s a nomination for airline amenity of the week:
Hawaiian Airlines has partnered with reef-safe sun care company Raw Elements USA, to offer complimentary packets of sunscreen to passengers on all flights from North America to Hawaii throughout the month of April.
Discounted full-size bottles of the eco-friendly sunscreen will also be sold on flights to Hawaii through June.
Complimentary sunscreen is a nice gesture, but it’s also an educational one.
Preserving Hawaii’s natural resources is important and the ingredients in many traditional sunscreen products can harm Hawaii’s coral reefs. To explain how, the airline has also debuted a new educational in-flight video, Reefs at Risk.
“Hawaii is a very special place, and we believe it is our kuleana, or responsibility, to care for our home,” Avi Mannis, senior vice president of marketing at Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement,
In addition to offering Hawaiian Airlines passengers complimentary sunscreen samples, Raw Elements USA is also hosting a social media sweepstakes for US residents.
The prize: two roundtrip tickets (140,000 HawaiianMiles) to Hawaii courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, a five-night stay at The Surfjack Hotel and Swim Club (an Aqua-Aston Hospitality Hotel), the choice of three complimentary island activities, and a year’s supply of Raw Elements reef-safe sunscreen.
Entries in the Protect the Reef sweepstakes are being accepted through 4/30/18. Good luck and see you on the beach!
You’ve heard the advice: when you’re taking a trip on an airplane, it’s important to exercise before, during and after your flight.
Or at least do some stretches while in your seat.
Hawaiian Airlines is doing its part to remind and assist passengers follow the ‘move’ advice by adding a series of health and wellness videos to its inflight entertainment system.
Here they are so you can practice:
Chewing gum is often prescribed for travelers who experience pain in their ears due to changes in cabin air pressure as the plane takes off or lands and, in the past, was handed regularly on flights.
That tradition has gone bye-bye, but Air France is doing its part to bring it back.
The airline has created its own, all-natural, made-in-France chewing gum – “La gomme à mâcher” – with two flavors: pistachio-macaroon and crème brûlée.
The airline says the gum is now available before take-off on flights AF066 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles and AF084 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to San Francisco and is being offered at various Air France lounges at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (Terminal 2E, hall M, K, L, and 2 F1, F2, G) and Paris-Orly (hall 3).
Air France isn’t the first to bring bag chewing gum as an in-flight amenity.
When Hawaiian Airlines celebrated the 85th anniversary of inter-island passenger service back in November 2015, the airline handed out packets of Wrigley’s gum to all passengers that day, because back in 1929, when the airline started flying the first amenity offered to passengers was a stick of gum to relieve ear pressure.
Hawaiian Airlines updated a refreshed logo and livery – showing off the new artwork on a Boeing 717 jet at Honolulu International Airport on Monday, which was – appropriately enough – Lei Day, an annual celebration of Hawaiian culture.
The new livery (shown on an A330 in the mock-up above) raises, just a bit, the prominence of Pualani (Flower of the Sky) – the woman whose face is seen on the airplane tails – and adds a silver lei that wraps around the body of the aircraft.
Old and new Pualani images are below:
More than 50 planes in the Hawaiian Airlines fleet will eventually feature the new design.
This short video is a nice description of the meaning of Pualiani and how the airline approached updating the images – making them ‘more Hawaiian.’
A new Hawaiian-themed Hawaiian themed move – “Moana” – is coming and Hawaiian Airlines is working with the Walt Disney studios to bring out three Airbus A330 aircraft with special livery.
The design of the first plane has been revealed and it features the characters from the movie. The next two liveries will be revealed next month.
All planes will fly on Hawaiian’s U.S. domestic routes and international destinations through March of 2017 and you can track where they’ll be here.
As part of the collaboration Hawaiian Airlines will feature a “Moana” caption-contest , with a grand prize of a trip for two to Los Angeles to attend the Hollywood Premiere of Moana.
Other movie-themed collaboration efforts include videos, Moana-themed amenities including luggage bins and inflight entertainment, as well as limited-edition products such as blankets, towels, and apparel.
They’ll also be a line of items you can buy – so if you’re taking your kids on a Hawaiian Airlines flight, bring your credit card…