“We want the best for our coaches, players and staff, and Hawaiian Airlines is consistently rated the #1 carrier in the nation for service and quality. We'll be proud to put our Seahawks emblem next to theirs on the 767 that will carry us to all our away games this year,” said Tim Ruskell, the Seahawks president of football operations and general manager.
The Seahawks will experience Hawaiian's special in-flight charter service featuring extra-large meals that include fresh fruit and other healthy choices, up to three first-run movies per flight and any special team requests.
The partnership with Hawaiian marks the first time the Seahawks will regularly fly on a wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft. Hawaiian's Boeing 767 aircraft can carry 264 passengers in a standard two-class configuration – enough space to provide each player with their own row of seats. Having the added space to stretch out in comfort will be especially useful as the Seahawks are flying more than 33,000 miles during the regular season, the second-highest total of any NFL team. For the 2007 season, Hawaiian will fly the Seahawks to their games in Phoenix, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Atlanta.
In keeping with the new partnership, Hawaiian will affix Seahawks logos to the aircraft used for the team's charter flights.
“Hawaiian Airlines has been a part of the Seattle community for more than 20 years, we are big Seahawks fans and we are thrilled to become part of the team,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO. “Given Hawaiian's unique brand of hospitality, we would not be surprised to see the Seahawks build the winningest away-game record in the NFL.”
Hawaiian Airlines began scheduled service to Seattle in 1986 and currently flies two daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Honolulu, and one daily nonstop flight between Seattle and Kahului, Maui.
Hawaiian Airlines is the nation's top ranked airline for service in the 2007 Airline Quality Ratings. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (AMEX: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.