POP QUIZ: What is the number one thing most Hawai‘i visitors forget while preparing for their island vacation?

If you guessed ocean safety, you’re right.

To help encourage our guests to become ocean smart before they arrive in Hawai‘i, we teamed up with Nā Kama Kai, an O‘ahu-based nonprofit dedicated to connecting keiki (children) with the kai (ocean). Throughout the year, guests traveling between Hawai‘i and our U.S. mainland and international destinations in our main cabin can learn essential ocean safety “do’s” and “don’ts” with the organization’s new Ocean Safety and Stewardship video.

The video was created under the passionate vision of Nā Kama Kai’s founder and CEO Duane DeSoto, with its easy-to-follow lessons distributed to public school fourth-graders statewide. A free Ocean Safety and Stewardship Awareness digital activity book is also available for download at NaKamaKai.Org/Ocean-Safety.

Keiki participants at one of Nā Kama Kai's free water safety clinics in East O‘ahu.

“Ocean safety education could potentially have a negative tone to visitors but knowing what to look for is absolutely critical and cannot be ignored,” shared DeSoto. “When we were developing this video, we wanted it to be entertaining and inclusive so that every member of the ‘ohana, especially our keiki, could learn the basics before jumping in the water.”

Nā Kama Kai volunteer and youth participants.

Throughout the film, DeSoto – a professional surfer born and raised in Mākaha (West O‘ahu), home to some of the best watermen and women in the world  – and a group of Hawaii’s premier surfers and lifeguards share their expertise in reading the ocean.

Duane DeSoto was inducted into the Hawai‘i Waterman’s Hall of Fame in 2015. As founder and CEO of Nā Kama Kai, he teaches youth and visitors about ocean safety.

“While our coastlines are pristine, they can also be dangerous,” DeSoto continued. “It’s important to know that each beach has its own unique personality and temperaments that change with the season. Our hope is to help teach the basics, like getting out of rip-tides, swimming out of strong currents, avoiding dangerous shore breaks and understanding your personal limits.”

Nā Kama Kai keiki participant at a youth surfing competition in Mākaha.

“Nā Kama Kai does such fantastic work for our local ocean-going communities, and it seemed like a natural fit for them to teach our guests about ocean safety,” said Evan Nomura, product manager for in-flight entertainment at Hawaiian Airlines. “The video is fun to watch and teaches a lot of great lessons that we’re confident will benefit all guests before they reach our shores.”

Nā Kama Kai keiki participants at an ocean safety clinic in East O‘ahu.

DeSoto started Nā Kama Kai in 2008, leveraging the generations-old knowledge he received growing up in Mākaha. Today, the nonprofit empowers keiki by nurturing their relationship to the ocean so they may better appreciate and care for the natural environment and themselves.

Duane DeSoto

Our Hawaiian Airlines ‘ohana has supported Nā Kama Kai from the start and has been fortunate to experience the impact DeSoto and his team of incredible volunteers have made on thousands of Hawai‘i’s youth. Their free offerings include monthly Ocean Safety and Conservation Awareness Clinics, keiki surf contests and the Alaka‘i Mentorship Program, a skills-based program developed in partnership with the Polynesian Voyaging Society to steward local teens into ocean-related careers. Nā Kama Kai is also a partner of the City and County of Honolulu’s Junior Lifeguard Program.

Learn more about Nā Kama Kai and how you can support their work in ocean safety at NaKamaKai.org.

On Nov. 11, we blew the candles for our 89^th birthday and officially began our 90^th year of service as Hawai‘i’s airline. The next day, we kept the celebration going by kicking off a yearlong, company-matched employee fundraising drive as a way to give back to our hometown communities –  the strong and steady tailwind behind our growth since we introduced commercial air transportation to Hawai‘i in 1929.

April Imai, manager of travel products at Hawaiian Airlines, proudly holds a company-designed T-shirt personalized with her home zip code for Hilo. All employees who donated to one or more of the four charities received their own shirt to represent their hometown.

We didn’t expect to throw another party so soon! However, with an overwhelming response from every department across our 7,200-strong employee ‘ohana, we surpassed our pledge goal before the new year.

L to R: Nainoa Thompson of Polynesian Voyaging Society, Norm Baker of Aloha United Way, Peter Ingram of Hawaiian Airlines, Kawika Burgess of Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and Amy Marvin of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

So earlier today, hundreds of employees gathered at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to present more than $187,000 in combined funds to Aloha United Way, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. That includes some $97,000 donated by our employees, along with $90,000 added by Hawaiian.

Representatives for the designated nonprofits joined Hawaiian Airlines employees to celebrate the completion of the fundraising campaign.

"The thank you goes to the whole family of Hawaiian, whose care has helped us get to where we need to go and to do our job: voyage," shared Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, during his mahalo remarks. "I don't take it lightly when we say this is Hawai‘i's airline. We sail for Hawai‘i, but [Hawaiian Airlines] flies for Hawai‘i."

The selected charities align with Hawaiian’s four giving pillars: education, health and human services, environment and culture, and are recognized stewards in their fields.

“Our employees represent no less than 100 of Hawai‘i’s 106 zip codes, and exceeding our pledge goal within just a few weeks symbolizes how grateful we all feel for the support we have enjoyed from our friends, families, neighbors, and the entire Hawai‘i community whom we’ve been privileged to serve for so many memorable years,” said Ann Botticelli, senior vice president for corporate communication and public affairs.

Check out the photos from today's celebration (hover of the image and click the arrow to view more):

We couldn’t think of a better way to close the year than to make history with ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, the mother tongue of the Hawaiian Islands. On Dec. 21, in conjunction with the second anniversary of our service between Haneda Airport (HND) and Kona International Airport (KOA), our flight and guest services crew hosted the first international Hawaiian language flight.

All guests on flight HA852 from HND to KOA became a part of Hawaiian Airlines’ history and experienced ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i from six flight attendants fluent in the Hawaiian language.

Flight attendant John Aiwohi helps a guest order her drink in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i.

The special anniversary flight came as part of our airlines’ dedication to incorporating the once almost-extinct language into our workplace.

Prior to take-off, we welcomed guests with an oli (Hawaiian chant) at the gate, an essential part of celebrating a milestone in Hawaiian culture, while Japan Country Director Takaya Shishido offered special remarks on the anniversary flight.  

John Borden, manager for in-flight operations at Hawaiian Airlines, gives a guest a kukui nut lei.

“What an honor it is to celebrate the second year of service between HND and KOA by bringing ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i aboard our aircraft. As Hawaii’s hometown carrier, it is our responsibility to share the stories and culture of the Islands,” shared Shishido. “Today, we live up to that duty and welcome you, our guests, to learn ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i from fluent-speaking members within our own Hawaiian Airlines family.”

The full ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i kit that was distributed to all guests on HA852.

Our crew conducted all boarding and in-flight announcements in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, followed by Japanese and English translations. Each guest was greeted with kukui nut lei before departing HND and fresh flower lei upon deplaning at KOA. They also received a travel-size language book, a “how-to” guide for ordering drinks in Hawaiian, and a commemorative certificate of participation.

Guests received a cheat sheet on how to order their drinks in Hawaiian language.

“[These ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i flights] are another opportunity for our Hawaiian language to thrive,” shared Punahele Kealanahele Querubin, a flight attendant on HA852. “When I visit Japan and let people know that I am from Hawai‘i, they get so excited because they're very interested in things Hawaiian. I really appreciate their respect for our culture.”

Guests who flew on our commemorative HND to KOA flight were welcomed on the Island of Hawaii with fresh lei, live entertainment and a warm aloha from our ‘ohana.

Flight HA852 was the seventh and final ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i flight of 2018 that our in-flight team has successfully organized. In April 2018, three of our flight attendants took guests flying between Hilo and Honolulu by surprise when they conducted their in-flight announcements entirely in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i during the Merrie Monarch Festival.

The crew leading the ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i flights between Hilo and Honolulu.

That same month, our in-flight ‘ohana shared Hawaiian culture with guests traveling between HNL and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, making history once again with the first native language flight between Hawai‘i and the U.S. Mainland.