Hawaiian Airlines hosts inaugural Aviation Day in Honolulu

Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaiʻi’s largest and longest-serving air carrier, hosted its inaugural Aviation Day on June 20 in its hangar at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The event aimed to foster future generations of aviation professionals.

The exploratory event offered participating students ages 13 to 18 years old from throughout the state a chance to learn about airline operations, aviation career pathways and aviation-related opportunities available in Hawai‘i, as well as speak directly with available Hawaiian Airlines spokespeople and employees.

Learning sessions hosted at the Hawaiian Airlines Koapaka Headquarters near the airport, covering in-flight experience, airport operations, revenue management, simulation technology and flight operations while highlighting the range of roles supporting and working for operations at Hawaiian Airlines.

Additional activities highlighted flight training, maintenance, engineering and cargo operations.

Students rotated through learning experiences — facilitated by more than 100 Hawaiian Airlines employees — and met with community partners, explored 11 community booth exhibitors such as Hawaiʻi National Guard and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, among others, and more.

Chief of Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiʻi Operations Jim Landers said about 500 students came out for Aviation Day see all aspects of what it does and the multiple other aspects of the aviation industry available.

“This is a really exciting day for us here at Hawaiian Airlines across the entire Hawaiian operation here at the Honolulu airport,” said Landers. “Hawaiian has been involved in community youth outreach programs for a number of years, but this Aviation Day is a concept that we started at Alaska Airlines a number of years ago and we felt it was time to bring it here to Hawaiʻi.”

Landers has more than 40 years under his belt in aviation and said every day is still exciting. Part of that excitement Saturday was a chance to spark an interest in aviation within the students participating.

“It’s a really cool thing [what] we do making these machines fly, taking people to where they want to be and at Hawaiian Airlines connecting people with aloha,” he said.

A local Aviation Day has long been an aspiration for Hawaiian Airlines.

Saturday’s event built on the shared commitment by Hawaiian and Alaska airlines supporting workforce development and preparing future generations of aviation professionals through its student outreach programs Ka Hoʻokele, Explorers program, Career Ambassadors and Aviation ʻIke and Aʻo.

“What we look for are people who are task-oriented, who can focus and are disciplined in following through on tests when they are assigned and to think about the environment in which they’re doing things to make sure that they’re safe, guests are safe and that our fellow employees remain safe, as well,” Landers said.

Safety is the hallmark of what Hawaiian Airlines does. It hopes the kids took that away from their Aviation Day explorations.

It’s also not just pilots and flight attendants or mechanics or ramp personnel who fuel the airplane or load the bags who make Hawaiian Airlines planes safe and reliable.

“There are dozens of professions associated with making that happen day-in-and-day-out,” Landers said. “All of the things that I mentioned, plus a bunch of back office folks. … It’s a world of opportunity for anyone interested in aviation.”

Every role is important, and while much of the aviation industry is about moving a plane from Point A to Point B, at Hawaiian the focus is on connecting people with aloha.

Bianca Mckee always aspired to be a flight attendant, applying for the third time in 2015 at Hawaiian Airlines, which proved to be lucky No. 3, as her dream became a reality.

“I had a cousin that worked for Aloha Airlines and the job just looked so amazing to be able to travel the world and really share our culture with people from all over the place,” said the Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant. “So when I finally got my job here, it was such a blessing; it really changed my life for the better and really opened the door to so many other opportunities.”

She’s now working to become a pilot.

Kailua, O‘ahu, 16-year-old Tyler Parker knows all about wanting to sit in the pilot’s seat of a Hawaiian Airlines plane.

The aspiring Hawaiian pilot plans to attend flight school at Pacific Flight Academy in Honolulu after he graduates high school. Tyler attended Aviation Day for the opportunity to learn more about the aviation industry environment, as well as show his interested.

“It’s what I’m going to be doing the rest of my life, hopefully,” he said, adding the event was a good chance to learn about everything he could in aviation. “The work life, the things I can do [to] help me get a job. It’s all just a cool day in general and it’s free … so [I] might as well take advantage of it.”

He said the simple fact Hawaiian Airlines even hosted Aviation Day and the firm’s desire to build community in general were the best parts.

“Just to have people from Hawaiʻi becoming pilots, becoming anything in the aviation industry to further build the community is so important,” Tyler said.

News reporter Nathan Christophel contributed to this story.