Airline's Team K'kua volunteers celebrate service by raising proceeds and providing carpentry repairs for community's Hope House.
HONOLULU – Hawaiian Airlines has reached a new milestone s it celebrates 30 years since launching its non-stop service between Honolulu and Pago Pago, American Samoa. The airline is the only major carrier to serve American Samoa.
The departure of Flight HA 465 was preceded by festivities at the boarding gate at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) that included live Hawaiian music and presentation of kukui nut lei to more than 200 guests boarding the flight. A Samoan speaking crew serviced the flight, including employees who have worked on Hawaiian Airlines’ Pago Pago route since its launch.
“We have proudly served American Samoa for three decades, reuniting friends and families, and catering to the travel needs of Pago Pago’s community,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines president and chief executive officer. “The consistent and reliable service we have provided over the years demonstrates our strong commitment to American Samoa, and we look forward to continuing to serve this very special region of the South Pacific that has strong cultural ties to our Hawaiian Islands.”
Hawaiian Airlines launched regularly scheduled non-stop service between Honolulu and Pago Pago in October 1984, operating on a DC-8 aircraft, after other airlines entered and left the market. The airline flies twice weekly between Pago Pago and Honolulu on Mondays and Fridays operating on a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, contributing nearly 55,000 seats to both Pago Pago and Honolulu travel markets each year. A third weekly flight is added seasonally during summer and winter.
Hawaiian Airlines is also giving back to the American Samoa community in celebration of its Pago Pago route’s 30th anniversary. This month, more than 500 articles of clothing and household items were collected by company employees and donated to the thrift shop at Hope House, a convalescent home in American Samoa that caters to elderly and disabled patients. Additionally, a group of more than 40 employees from the airline’s Team Kokua volunteer brigade will also be providing carpentry repairs to the convalescent home on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The 30th anniversary of Hawaiian Airlines’ Pago Pago route coincides with a series of celebrations leading up to the airline’s 85th anniversary on Nov. 11, 2014. In September, Hawaiian Airlines unveiled a memorial wall at Kahului Airport honoring Capt. James Bertram Hogg, the pilot whose name was used for the airport’s three-letter code (OGG). The event kicked off a three-month-long celebration and continued with an all-day community event in early October at at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii in Hilo, the airline’s first destination. Throughout the month of November, Hawaiian Airlines Team Kokua will be participating in statewide community service projects on the islands of Hawai’i, Maui, O’ahu and Kaua’i, restoring agricultural and historical sites.
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