G’day from Australia!
Our Hawaiian Airlines ‘ohana threw on our best party hats for our latest company milestone: 15 wonderful years of nonstop service between Sydney and Honolulu. We blew the birthday candles last Friday, marking 15 years to the day since we introduced our warm Hawaiian hospitality in the land down under.

“We’ve had an incredible legacy as Hawai‘i’s largest and longest-serving airline,” said Andrew Stanbury, Hawaiian’s regional director for Australia and New Zealand, noting the carrier is also celebrating 90 years of continuous operations. “On behalf of our entire ‘ohana, I would like to say mahalo to our hardworking team and loyal guests for growing Hawaiian Airlines into a popular household name in Sydney and throughout Australia.”

On May 17, we welcomed guests boarding flight HA452 at Sydney Airport (SYD) with birthday cupcakes, fresh flower lei and strummed our ukuleles for a gate-side hula performance.

“Since 2004, we’ve provided our Aussie guests with award-winning, authentic Hawaiian hospitality and today, it’s our honor to serve you during this special time,” Brian Worth, senior director of airport operations at Hawaiian Airlines, told guests waiting to board.

We kept the celebration going into the following Monday at a special luncheon hosted by our extended Sydney sales ‘ohana at the city’s new waterfront precinct of Barangaroo. Over a table full of island-inspired food and drinks, and some favorite local music in the background (think Keauhou, Anuhea, Kolohe Kai and Kimie Miner), we celebrated the route’s success and offered a special mahalo to our travel partners for their contributions.
Stanbury recognized our deep roots in the islands and in Australia, sharing the following insights:
- Over 1.71 million travelers have flown between SYD and HNL on Hawaiian Airlines since we launched service in 2004;
- In the past five years (2014-2019), one in four guests departing from Australia (Sydney and Brisbane combined) on Hawaiian Airlines continue their travel on our flights to the U.S. Mainland, and five percent of this group took advantage of a multi-day stopover in Honolulu at some point of their travel;
- Our aussie guests' favorite Neighbor Island connections from SYD include Kahului on Maui, Kona on the Island of Hawai‘i, and Līhu‘e on Kaua‘i; and
- Their top U.S. Mainland connections offered by Hawaiian’s network include Los Angeles (LAX), New York City (JFK), and Las Vegas (LAS).
The crowd favorite: the integration of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, an ultra-fuel-efficient aircraft being equipped with top-of-the-line seat technology, into Hawaiian’s fleet starting in 2021.

“We are currently evaluating exactly where these planes will fly, though we do highly anticipate the Boeing 787-9 to service Oceania,” Stanbury said.
“Adding the Boeing 787-9 to our existing Airbus A330 fleet of long-haul aircraft will open opportunities to launch new service. It’s too early to announce potential new routes, but we are excited about the prospect of increasing our network, and Oceania will certainly be part of our planning.”
Learn more about our nonstop service between Honolulu and Sydney or book your next trip down under by clicking here.