Copyright Photo: Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) yesterday (June 1) introduced its fleet of the future by welcoming the first of up to 27 new long-range Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft joining the company’s fleet this decade.
HA’s 294-seat Airbus A330-243 N380HA (msn 1104) will inaugurate service on Friday, June 4, on a flight departing Honolulu for Los Angeles.
The new A330 is named for the constellation Makali’i, otherwise known as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, which guided ancient Polynesian voyagers across the Pacific and was seen high in the sky when Inter-Island Airways (renamed Hawaiian Airlines in 1941) launched its first scheduled flight on November 11, 1929. Each of Hawaiian’s new A330s are being named after a star or constellation used by Polynesian voyagers for celestial navigation.
In keeping with Hawaiian Airlines’ heritage, the ceremony featured a traditional Hawaiian blessing by Kahu Richard Kamanu of Kaumakapili Church, a special ‘oli (Hawaiian chant) created just for the occasion by company employee Keoni Martin, and hula by Halau I Ka Wekiu, led by Kumu Hula Veto Baker and Michael Casupang.
Hawaiian took delivery of Makali’i five weeks ago in a Hawaii-themed acceptance ceremony at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, that included a group of more than 200 Hawaiian Airlines employees and their guests.
Makali’i made its arrival in Honolulu on May 3 and since then has been undergoing final preparations and training for its introduction into service.
Hawaiian’s second A330, named Hokule’a or “star of gladness,” arrived Saturday, May 29, following a 16-hour nonstop flight from Toulouse to Honolulu.
Filed under: Hawaiian Airlines Tagged: Airbus A330-200, Hawaiian Airlines
