HONOLULU, August 15, 2000 - Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (AMEX and PCX: HA) has been named the airline of the Oakland Raiders for the 2000 NFL season.
As the Raiders' carrier, Hawaiian Airlines will be treating the tough guys from the East Bay to Hawaiian's award-winning Mea Ho`okipa service en route to eight NFL cities. In addition to healthy portioned inflight meals, the team will be pampered with candy baskets and lots of fresh fruit on every flight.
Hawaiian Airlines will be flying the team nonstop from Oakland to one pre-season game and seven regular-season games on the road, which began with Dallas on August 13. The Raiders will also fly Hawaiian to Indianapolis in September; Kansas City and San Diego in October; Denver and New Orleans in November; and Pittsburgh and Seattle in December.
The chartered DC-10 flights will carry as many as 200 Raiders players, coaches, trainers and staff to their games. Should the Raiders qualify for post-season play, Hawaiian will have first rights to fly the team to the Playoffs and/or the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
"We're delighted to have the opportunity to fly these gentlemen to their dates with destiny," said John B. Happ, Hawaiian Airlines Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing. "I can tell you that Hawaiian Airlines will be rooting for them to win all their away games, so they can truly enjoy our inflight service. And of course, flying Hawaiian will whet their appetite for a trip to Hawaii for the NFL Pro Bowl, which will be held at Aloha Stadium in February."
Now in its 71st year of service, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's longest-serving and largest airline. The nation's 12th largest carrier, it operates an all-jet fleet of 15 narrowbody DC-9 and 14 widebody DC-10 aircraft. Hawaiian provides more than 160 scheduled flights daily among the islands of Hawaii and 14 scheduled flights a day between Hawaii and five gateways in the western U.S. Its South Pacific service links Honolulu with American Samoa and with Tahiti twice weekly. Additional information on Hawaiian Airlines is available on the airline's Web site at www.hawaiianair.com.