HONOLULU – Jul. 13, 2009 - In 1929, only the most intrepid adventurers were familiar with the miracle of flight.
So the visionary founders of Inter-Island Airways sought out the sturdiest, most comfortable aircraft of the
day to introduce Hawaii residents to air travel: the Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker.
Inter-Island Airways, later renamed Hawaiian Airlines, would go on to introduce Hawaii’s first
scheduled air service between the islands with two amphibious Sikorsky S-38 planes. But it was the
Bellanca that got residents used to the idea of traveling by air.
And now, 80 years later, the Bellanca is returning to grace the skies over Honolulu once again.
Hawaiian Airlines has found the historic plane and is bringing it back to Hawaii in time to celebrate its
80th anniversary on November 11, 2009.
Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO, commented, “It is humbling to think that the
countless flights flown, the hundreds of millions of passengers carried and all the aviation ‘firsts’ our
company has been responsible for started 80 years ago with this very airplane. It is a source of tremendous
pride to all of us at Hawaiian Airlines that we will be bringing this seminal piece of Hawaii’s history back
to where it belongs.”
Hawaiian located the antique airplane with an aviation enthusiast in Oregon and organized a largely
volunteer restoration project to return the plane to flying condition at Port Townsend Aero Museum in
Washington. Pratt & Whitney, manufacturer of the vintage motor that powers the Bellanca as well as the jet
engines on 14 of Hawaiian’s current fleet of aircraft, is helping to underwrite the project.
“As one of the earliest pioneers of aviation, Pratt & Whitney’s proud history of designing, building
and servicing dependable engines began nearly 85 years ago,” said Jim Guiliano, vice president of Global
Customer Services for Pratt & Whitney. “This Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker is powered with a refurbished
Pratt & Whitney WASP engine, and we are happy to help underwrite its restoration to commemorate
Hawaiian Airlines’ 80th anniversary.”
Hawaiian is making plans for special flights and public appearances for the plane following its
arrival and reassembly on Oahu in September.
In September 1929, company founder Stanley C. Kennedy, Jr. acquired the Bellanca theorizing that
people in Hawaii would more quickly accept the revolutionary concept of flying over water to the other
islands if they could see and experience the wonders of flight in the skies above Honolulu.
Thus, the company began as an operator of sightseeing tours over Honolulu with the Bellanca and
later began Hawaii’s first scheduled interisland air service using the two Sikorsky S-38 amphibian planes.
Hawaii’s first airline has been serving the islands continuously ever since.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian is the nation’s highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2008 in the
19th annual Airline Quality Rating study. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for
each of the past five years (2004-2008) and has been an industry leader in fewest misplaced bags during
that same period (#1 from 2005-2007, #2 in 2008) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian as the
top domestic airline serving Hawaii.
Hawaiian will mark 80 years of continuous service for Hawaii on November 11, 2009. Hawaiian is
the state’s biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to
Hawaii from the state’s primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to
Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the Philippines,
Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 160 daily jet flights within the
Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional
information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.
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