Lilo & Stitch Took Flight in Hawaii with Hawaiian Airlines

Local Carrier is Movie's Exclusive Domestic Airline Partner

HONOLULU, June 13, 2002 --
When The Walt Disney Studios began looking for Hawaii-based promotional partners for Lilo & Stitch, its new full-length animated feature, Hawaiian Airlines jumped at the opportunity and is the movie's exclusive domestic airline partner through August 2002. Lilo & Stitch opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, June 21st.

Set on Kauai, Lilo & Stitch tells the story of the unique relationship of ‘ohana (family) that develops between Lilo, a lonely little Hawaiian girl, and Stitch, the new “pet” she adopts who is actually a genetic experiment that has escaped from an alien planet.

“Hawaiian Airlines is thrilled to have been invited to partner with Walt Disney Pictures in promoting this marvelous family film that hits so close to home for us. We congratulate the studio and filmmakers for their vision and sensitivity in casting Hawaii and its culture as the backdrop for this heartwarming story. They've done a fantastic job capturing some of what makes living in Hawaii so special,” said John B. Happ, Hawaiian's Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales.

“We chose Hawaiian Airlines because of their universal identity as the airline of Hawaii, their commitment to perpetuating Hawaii's culture, and their family-oriented Hawaiian-style hospitality,” said Cherise McVicar, Disney's Senior Vice President, National Promotions. “Hawaiian has been a great partner and we're delighted with the way they've helped us promote the film.”

Hawaiian's partnership commitment is primarily comprised of providing Disney and its promotional partners with hundreds of trip packages for use as sweepstakes prizes in markets nationwide, as well as transportation for key talent and filmmakers to attend the world premiere and various Hawaii-based events.

Of particular note, yesterday Hawaiian flew the Kamehameha Schools Children's Choir -- a party of 50 including choir members and chaperones -- to Los Angeles to perform at the film's world premiere, this Sunday, June 16, at Hollywood's historic El Capitan Theatre. The choir performs two songs in the film.

Hawaiian is also using Lilo & Stitch images in several advertising and promotional campaigns. The airline has used Stitch's image in national print ads, often depicting the grinning rascally alien popping from the ad after having torn away a chunk of the page.

Lilo & Stitch is prominently featured in Hawaiian's onboard communications, including a showing of the movie's trailer during the inflight video, clips of the movie's dialogue and soundtrack on the audio channel, and promotional ads in the inflight magazine, Hana Hou!

A favorite onboard item for children is the special foldout Lilo & Stitch poster, which includes fun information about Hawaii and coupons for movie-related and Hilo Hattie products, being given to all youngsters (and the young at heart) traveling on Hawaiian's transpacific flights.

The carrier's Web site, www.HawaiianAir.com, also has Stitch embedded on the front page with a special link to Disney's interactive movie site, featuring the trailer, inter-stitch-ial ads, and computer games.

Hawaiian's partnership with Disney has extended beyond consumer marketing. Last August, Hawaiian supported Buena Vista Marketing Group, an affiliate of Disney's parent company, with a partnership conference on Maui.

“Disney is the world's most respected brand in family entertainment. Being their partner and associated with the Disney name has been great for our company and Hawaii,” said Happ.

Founded in Honolulu 72 years ago, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's longest-serving and largest airline. The nation's 12th largest airline, it is also the second-largest provider of passenger service between the West Coast and Hawaii.

The company is scheduled to replace its existing widebody fleet of DC-10 aircraft operating transpacific routes between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland and two South Pacific destinations with 16 Boeing 767-300ER aircraft by mid-2003.
Hawaiian currently has seven new Boeing 767-300ER widebody jets in service between Hawaii and the West Coast, with four more of the aircraft being added to the company's fleet by the end of 2002.

Having already replaced its interisland fleet of narrowbody DC-9 aircraft with 13 new Boeing 717-200 jets in 2001, the replacement of Hawaiian's widebody aircraft will leave the carrier with one of the youngest fleets in the airline industry.

Hawaiian takes great pride in its innovative onboard service programs that highlight and promote the people and culture of Hawaii. The airline has earned numerous international awards for service in recent years, including the 2001 Zagat Survey's award for Best Overall U.S. Airline in the Premier category, and the 2001 Diamond Award for In-Flight Service from Onboard Services magazine. Hawaiian was also rated third highest in Travel & Leisure magazine's most recent ranking of the Top 10 U.S. Airlines.

Additional information on Hawaiian Airlines, including previously issued company news releases, is available on the airline's Web site at www.HawaiianAir.com.