Look up at O‘ahu’s blue skies and you might just be lucky enough to spot our maroon, single-engine Bellanca, the iconic aircraft that started it all for Hawaiian Airlines. This week in history, we’re celebrating the aircraft to which we trace our long-time legacy as Hawai‘i’s hometown carrier.

Bellanca making her debut over the Hawaiian Islands.

It all began in the spring of 1928 when isle businessman Stanley C. Kennedy convinced the board of Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company to expand into the airline sector. A visionary, Kennedy believed air travel would inevitably overtake ships as the main mode of passenger transportation between the Hawaiian Islands.

His tactic to get the fledging Inter-Island Airways Ltd. off the ground? Introduce locals to the wonders of air travel by offering sightseeing tours of O‘ahu aboard his new acquisition: The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker, a five-passenger, 300-horsepower monoplane with a fabric-covered metal frame and wooden wings.

Bellanca parked in front of the Inter-Island Airways hangar in 1929.

The Bellanca was purchased from Delaware-based manufacturer Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, where she was flown cross-country to San Francisco and shipped to Hawai‘i. She first took to the island’s skies on Oct. 6, 1929, when it carried 76 passengers on trial flights. Inter-Island Air Service was officially inaugurated on Nov. 11, 1929, with the Bellanca logging nearly 50 flight hours that month.

From 1930-31, the Bellanca fulfilled the mission set by Kennedy, giving more than 12,000 guests – six at a time – a birds-eye-view of O‘ahu for three dollars (approximately $43 today) a head. By 1933, the Bellanca was pulled from commercial service and sold. The aircraft made its way to Alaska, where it would haul cargo – such as 55-gallon drums of fuel and bear cubs, deliver supplies to villages, transport injured minors and double as a seaplane.

Bellanca in Alaska in the 1940s. The aircraft was not only the inaugural plane for Inter-Island Airways, but also among the first fleet for Star Airlines, which later became know as Alaska Airlines.

Back in the Islands, Kennedy’s vision had become a reality, with Inter-Island Airways renamed Hawaiian Airlines in 1941.

Two decades later, Bellanca was put out of commission after crashing into a lake in British Columbia. The mangled plane suffered severe structural and mechanical damage and was later taken under the care of an aviation enthusiast in Oregon. The rest is somebody else’s history to tell…well, until 2009.

After departing the Hawaiian Islands, the Bellanca doubled as an amphibious plane throughout the northern region of North America.

After learning the plane was for sale, former Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley and a handful of company pilots set out on a mission to re-purchase Hawaiian’s most prized piece of history.

“When we learned Bellanca was up for sale, we did everything we could to bring it home,” shared Capt. Rick Rogers, Hawaiian Airlines archivist and former pilot.

The company quickly re-acquired the aircraft and embarked on an ambitious restoration project on the mainland. In late August 2009, she was certified airworthy after a successful flight to the state of Washington and returned home to the Hawaiian Islands.

A look inside the cockpit of the Bellanca after the completion of its first restoration in 2009.

Bellanca has since undergone another major restoration and remains one of the only remaining Bellanca CH-300 Pacemakers in the world that still fly. Today, it’s a source of Hawaiian Airlines’ pride, giving employees personal sightseeing tours around Honolulu. (Talk about an employee perk!)

“Bringing that airplane back was an incredible time for our company and – to this day – it continues to be the crown jewel of our fleet,” added Capt. Rick. “If you happened to pick the right flight, you could even get former company CEO Mark Dunkerley as your personal pilot and tour guide.”

Bellanca after its first restoration in 2009. The iconic plane continues to operate today, providing Hawaiian Airlines employees with sight-seeing tours around the island of Oahu.

So go ahead and look up next time you’re enjoying Honolulu’s sunshine, and if the sky is cloudy, listen closely…you’ll likely hear Bellanca’s historic hum traveling through the island’s airspace. 

Our strong island roots place the needs of our kama‘āina at the forefront of our mission to be Hawai‘i’s flagship carrier. That’s why earlier this week we were honored to play a role in supporting two local nonprofits working tirelessly to provide disaster relief in Hanalei on Kaua‘i and Puna on the Island of Hawai‘i.

(L to R) Brad Matheny, managing director of cargo operations at Hawaiian Airlines, Brent Overbeek, senior vice president of network planning and revenue management of Hawaiian Airlines, Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, Steven Ai, president and CEO of City Mill, Brandee Menino, CEO of Hope Services Hawai‘i, Stephen Spears, executive director of Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity, staff with Hawaiian Airlines accounting team who donated school supplies.

As part of Hawaiian’s launch of all-cargo service between Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Līhu‘e Airport (LIH) and Hilo International Airport (ITO), our ‘ohana partnered with City Mill – another longtime kama‘āina company – to secure and ship over 2,600 pounds of donated goods aboard our new fleet of ATR-72 aircraft. The cargo included:

• 1,020 pounds of construction tools flown to Līhu‘e to be used by Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity in repairing homes for low-income residents affected by last April’s devastating storms
• 1,815 pounds of furniture transported to Hilo for 20 micro-houses built by Hope Services to shelter families affected by the ongoing Kīlauea volcano lava flow

Our new ATR72 turboprop freighter being loaded with boxes of donated materials

Habitat for Humanity Kaua‘i staff received the donated tools at LIH this week so crews could continue rebuilding impacted areas of the island’s North Shore. The gifted materials add to Hawaiian’s earlier $25,000 donation to the organization after torrential storms displaced residents earlier this spring.

“This donation really enables us to help out the families on the North Shore of Kaua‘i whose homes were damaged in the floods,” said Stephen Spears, executive director of Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity. “Now they’ll receive the tools they need to make long-term repairs and assist with our island’s disaster relief efforts.”

Habitat for Humanity received their donations this week, including ladders, hammers and other construction tools to assist in repairing North Shore homes

On the Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaiian’s shipment of furniture was picked up at ITO on Wednesday by volunteers at Hope Services Hawai‘i. Desks, tables and stands, among other items, will furnish the micro-housing units built for Puna families who were forced to evacuate their homes.

“Hawaiian Airlines has been very generous in helping to bring these supplies that are desperately needed in our community,” shared Brandee Menino, CEO of HOPE Services Hawai‘i. ”People are still displaced in our community and it’s going to be a long recovery. We appreciate the support that continues to come our way.”

Need to ship something from Island to Island? You can try out our new all-cargo service by visiting hawaiianaircargo.com or stopping by the Hawaiian Airlines cargo facility at any major Hawai‘i airport.

Organize your binders, sharpen your pencils and pack your bookbags, it’s back-to-school season! Hawaiian Airlines recently partnered with Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving military families, for its Back-to-School Brigade! The annual nationwide school supply drive and distribution campaign provides keiki (children) with free supplies for the new school year.

In our first year as a community partner, we recruited leaders from each company department to host their own mini-drives. Employees assembled a stockpile of basic materials, including glue, folders, backpacks, pencils, notebooks and more.

“As a parent myself, I understand the stresses that come with getting keiki ready for the new academic year and the expenses that follow,” shared Michael Church, instructor of maintenance training and president of the Hawaiian Airlines Veterans Employee Network. “It was a wonderful feeling to gather my team members for a great cause and provide Hawai‘i’s youth and military families the support they need to succeed!”

After collecting donations, Team Kōkua, Hawaiian’s employee volunteer group, counted, packed up and distributed items to families at Hickam Airforce Base, the largest U.S. Air Force installation in the state. In total, our ‘ohana gifted approximately $8,500 in supplies, including 122 backpacks and 1,100 pounds of classroom essentials!

In all, over 1,000 keiki received school supplies thanks to Operation Homefront, which is also supported by Helping Hands Hawaii, Navy Exchange, Marine Corps Exchange, Office Depot, Fisher Hawaii and via individual cash donations. 

When Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendant Wesley Hirata spotted an older Asian man boarding a recent Los Angeles to Honolulu flight with three Caucasian girls, something didn’t feel right.

The party claimed they were traveling together as a family, but their limited interaction concerned Hirata, who periodically asked them questions throughout the trip to try and learn more. Still worried, he enlisted the help of fellow flight attendants Crimson Foster and Kira Sunderland.

“Because of Wes’ strong instinct about the situation, I decided to go up to the girls and ask a few questions,” said Foster. She confirmed Hirata’s observations, observing the girls were nice but shy.

The three later examined the man’s required agriculture form prior to landing in Honolulu. “After seeing one of the girls he was traveling with was underage, I felt compelled to check on the passenger manifest,” explained Hirata. “As a brother of two sisters – including one 10 years my junior – I couldn’t just ignore the situation under good conscience.”

“Wes and I then looked at the manifest and saw something very unusual,” said Sunderland. “All three girls were listed with the same name.”

“It was definitely a strange situation which I have never experienced in my 15-plus years of flying,” added Hirata.

It was also a first for Sunderland, a veteran of 34 years, who decided it raised enough red flags to warrant action. “While we are all very aware of not wanting to inconvenience any passenger, it is obviously more important to guard the safety and security of our flight and the passengers in our care,” she shared.

Honolulu sheriffs questioned the passengers upon arrival and referred the case to the FBI as suspected human trafficking. While the case was dismissed, law enforcement praised the crew's actions.

"We do appreciate Hawaiian Airlines employees for speaking out and saying something and bringing it to our attention," said Jason K. White, spokesman for the Honolulu FBI field office. "We encourage people to remember that if something seems strange or doesn't feel right most times something is wrong, however, that was not the case in this incident."

 “The astute awareness of the flight attendants – noticing some key anomalies that heightened their attention to that situation – led them to quickly alert the captain who made the appropriate notification to our Systems Operations Control Center and airport security,” said Thomas Aiu, Hawaiian’s director of corporate security.

L to R: Crimson Foster, Kira Sunderland and Wes Hirata

Human trafficking is estimated to be the world’s second most profitable transnational crime, according to the United Nations’ aviation agency. The International Labour Organization estimates 40 million people are trapped in some form of modern slavery such as forced labor or marriage, with women and girls accounting for 71 percent of victims.

“All of us are aware that Hawaiian is famous for hospitality, and deservedly so,” says Sunderland. “But we always say, ‘if you see something, say something,’ and that's exactly what happened here… I am grateful for our training, and for the quick responses of all involved – in flight and on the ground – during very busy phases of our flight.”

Hirata offers some advice for anyone who may find themselves in similar situations, possibly doubting their instincts:

“Always be observant of passengers as they board… Also, be sure to discuss any strange situations with other crew members and enlist the help of those willing to get involved. Trust your gut and prior experience. Report the situation without alarming or confronting the passengers in a suspicious manner.”