As the first cherry blossoms of the season began to bloom, 20 Tech Ops employees from Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines embarked on a special annual visit to Holy Family Home, an orphanage in Osaka, Japan.

 

Since 2017, the Hawaiian Airlines Tech Ops team has journeyed over 4,000 miles from Honolulu to support Holy Family Home through Team Kōkua, the airline's employee volunteer group. Aligning with Tech Ops’ annual international maintenance leadership gathering, these visits have evolved into a heartfelt tradition — demonstrating a deep commitment to nurturing the community, fostering cultural exchange and spreading the spirit of aloha.

 

Following World War II, the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul established Holy Family Home in Osaka to care for orphans spanning infancy through high school. In 1949, members of the 27th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Wolfhounds,” visited the orphanage for the first time. Shocked by the poor living conditions, the soldiers began pooling money from their paychecks to support the children. That year, they collected $149 — equivalent to over $2,000 today* — and this marked the beginning of their ongoing efforts to aid the orphanage, including raising enough to fund the construction of a new facility.

Hawaiian Airlines’ Maintenance & Engineering Vice President Beau Tatsumura read about the story in a military newspaper while on deployment with the U.S. Army and was touched. Years later, when Tatsumura and his team had the opportunity to support a community group during their regular Osaka visit, Holy Family Home immediately came to mind.

 

 

During this year’s visit, Team Kōkua tackled essential facility upgrades, including planting flowers, repainting an emergency slide and entrance gates and repairing a broken clock tower. After a shared lunch, the group hosted cultural activities for the youth, including a finger puppet activity that taught the children about native birds that inspired the names of Hawaiian’s Boeing 717 fleet. Ukulele lessons and a custom cornhole game, assembled by aircraft mechanics, added to the fun, and each child was gifted cotton candy and a special treat bag.

"I think the children really enjoyed learning about the birds," said Jennifer Lee, senior director of supply chain management programs and initiatives at Hawaiian Airlines. "It briefly took them to a place that's near and dear to our hearts, and it was nice to be able to share that with them."

 

 

 

Scott Miller, chief inspector at Alaska Airlines, reflected on his trip of firsts: first time in Japan, first visit to Holy Family Home and first Team Kōkua activity. "I honestly think the interaction with the kids, when they came in, was absolutely amazing," Miller shared. "I helped some young folks cut out paper hats and finger puppets, which was one of the most fun parts of the day."

Jim Landers, senior vice president of tech ops at Hawaiian Airlines, added, "Seeing the smiles on their faces puts smiles in our hearts. It’s been a joy to grow our relationship with Holy Family Home in the past nine years, and this visit was even more special with the presence of our new colleagues at Alaska Airlines."

Team Kōkua engages employees from around Hawaiian’s global network to give back to the people and places the carrier serves. "If you can volunteer when you travel, whether for work or pleasure, it is always well worth it," Miller said. "I think that generally those who volunteer tend to get more out of the experience from the positive impact on the community and the camaraderie built while working together."

 

*This figure was calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator

Amid the flurry of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language Month) celebrations, the Hawaiian Airlines Community and Cultural Relations Team remained focused on their guiding principle of “launa.” Meaning to socialize or connect, “launa” was their north star, anchoring this year’s celebration across both Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines.

Throughout February, the team organized expert workshops, language lessons, and Team Kōkua volunteer activations that engaged guests, employees and the community with the language and in intimate learning experiences.

“Meeting all these people through the Hawaiian language makes the language all that much more critical and shows the strength that education wields in bringing people together,” shared Manakō Tanaka, senior community and cultural relations manager at Hawaiian Airlines.

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Bringing ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to Seattle and Anchorage

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi took to the skies with a special bilingual flight between Kahului, Maui, and Seattle, Washington — a first for Hawaiian Airlines’ nonstop service to the Emerald City. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, HA30 departed Maui with 10 crewmembers and three gate agents, some of whom are learning the language and others who have earned Hawaiian Airlines’ language certification — a distinction marked by the Hawaiian flag on a name tag. In-flight and gate announcements were made in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English.

Guests were also given a commemorative engagement card to use when ordering drinks and snacks, starting a conversation onboard, or sharing the language with others at home.

After the flight’s arrival, Hawaiian Airlines employees joined their Alaska Airlines teammates for an ʻōlelo class at Alaska’s SeaTac headquarters, exploring new ways to incorporate the language in daily conversations in and out of work.

A similar class was held at Anchorage Airport for Alaska Airlines employees, followed by a special cultural exchange at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

“[Our visit to Anchorage] became an excellent chance to meet with the Indigenous people of that land, and one extra special moment for me was when [the Alaska native groups] taught us some words from their language, and then we taught them some Hawaiian language,” Tanaka shared. “Language becomes the vessel by which we build connection.”

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Connecting with Cultural Experts

Mele (song) and oli (chant) were central to Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, as local cultural experts dedicated time to meet with employees across Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines to share their wisdom and knowledge.

Keliʻi Ruth, a Native Hawaiian chanter and PhD candidate at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, shared his love of oli with employees and explained the meaning and wisdom embedded in these chants when spoken aloud.

Another workshop was held by Zachary Alakaʻi Lum, a Native Hawaiian composer, musician and founder of the nonprofit Kāhuli Leo Leʻa. Lum guided employees through an exploration of music composition, the craft of mele and ways they can more deeply engage with significant Hawaiian melodies woven with cultural and historical allusions.

Hawaiian Airlines later contributed $2,500 to Kāhuli Leo Leʻa, proudly affirming its support for the nonprofit’s efforts to preserve, share, and expand cultural knowledge through the power of mele.

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Stewarding the Next Generation

The Hawaiian Airlines Talent Acquisition team hosted eight students from Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School (LPCS) for a special career day called Aviation ʻIke (Knowledge). The event, conducted entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, introduced students in their junior and senior years to flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, cargo agents, airport operations, corporate staff and more, allowing them to connect with aviation professionals and learn about their career journeys. The goal: encourage the next generation of native speakers to consider joining aviation while establishing new opportunities for the language to thrive in professional settings.

Dr. Meahilahila Kelling, director at Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M Kamakau LPCS, shared, “Hū aʻela koʻu haʻaheo ma ia huakaʻi e ʻike i ka nui o nā kānaka i kēia manawa e kū i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻike maka nā haumāna i ke kūpono e kūpaʻa i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma waho aku o ke kula kaiāʻōlelo a ma nā ʻoihana like ʻole. (I was filled with pride on this trip to see how many people speak Hawaiian now. Our students were able to witness that it is prudent to continue to use Hawaiian language outside of just our community, and now in various lines of business.)”

At the annual Ola Ka ʻĪ Hawaiian Language Festivals, hosted every Saturday in February across the state, employees also engaged in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi conversations with local communities.

Team Kōkua volunteers hosted arts and crafts activities, including translation worksheets and keiki (children) coloring pages highlighting Hawaiian language names for parts of the Airbus A330 and equipment commonly seen on the ramp. Attendees also had the opportunity to win 15,000 HawaiianMiles in a raffle that encouraged the use of Hawaiʻi’s native language.

Want to share the 2025 Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi coloring sheets with your keiki? Click the images below to download and print!