The Hawaii Express, 1982-1983, was a scheduled passenger airline that operated flights between Honol The Vice-President of Operations was William Traver. (1996).
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The Big Pineapple
THE HAWAII EXPRESS - AIRLINE · SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2018·
The Hawaii Express (IATA: LP, ICAO: HEA) was a scheduled passenger airline that operated flights between Los Angeles, California (LAX) and Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL). It was nicknamed "The Big Pineapple" and started service with one Boeing 747aircraft, featuring a unique and detailed paint job with a mango-colored tail and
a rainbow-colored stripe down the side. Founded by Michael Hartley, who would later go on to found Air Hawaii and CheapTickets, the airline began flights on August 20, 1982. Since the airline wanted to hire personnel with airline experience, the employment ad which ran in the airlines section of Los Angeles Times newspaper classified ads in the spring of 1982 listed previous 747 qualification as a requirement. The airline's original crew members included fifteen pilots, most of whom were from the recently bankrupted Braniff Airlines based in Dallas, Texas, while the original fifty flight attendants were furloughed from various major airlines in the United States. Four of those fifty flight attendants served as permanent pursers/First Flight Attendants. All crew members were based at Los Angeles International Airport with maintenance and gate facilities provided by TWA. Hawaii Express acquired two McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft in May 1983 to replace the 747, although all three aircraft were operated simultaneously for a while. The Hawaii Express suspended flights on December 20 of that year and filed for bankruptcy the following day. References
- Norwood, Tom W. Deregulation Knockouts, Round One. Sandpoint, Idaho: Airways International. p. 73. ISBN 0965399303. OCLC 37263082.
- Wynbrandt, James (2004). "Chapter 1: The Journey Begins". Flying High. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-65544-9. OCLC 54461996.
21/08/2023
A photo by Reinhard Zinabold
N905WA (The Hawaii Express)
N905WA - MCDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 - The Hawaii Express
at Los Angelex International (LAX) in summer 1993
c/n 46.938 - built in 1974 for Western Airlines -
operated by The Hawaii Express between 04/1983 and 04/1984 -
converted to freighter in 2000 -
The aircraft is still in active service in 2012 as N560FE of FedEx
N905WA - MCDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 - The Hawaii Express at Los Angelex International (LAX) in summer 1993 c/n 46.938 - built in 1974 for Western Airlines - operated by The Hawaii Express between 04/1983 and 04/1984 - converted to freighter in 2000 - The aircraft is still in active service in 2012 a...
The airline that still flies the 747 to Hawaii may surprise you. Can you guess its name?
05/10/2022
The popular destination of Hawaii became a focus in the post deregulation era as airline business models were set up to cater to the tourist market with low fares and other gimmicks. One of the first airlines to “takeoff” was The Hawaii Express started by Michael Hartley which flights in August 1982, between Los Angeles and Honolulu using a leased Boeing 747. With a configuration of 491 seats in a single class configuration, fares as low as $89.95 one way brought quick business. With fierce competition in the Los Angeles-Honolulu market with the likes of the established carriers such as Western Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Orient, The Hawaii Express traded in the Boeing 747 for a pair of Douglas DC-10s in April 1983. Although increasing service to three daily round trips, as well as plans to expand destinations, The Hawaii Express couldn’t financially survive the legacy carriers cutting costs and suspended operations on December 20, 1983.
Seen taxiing past the hold short point for Runway 8 Left and preparing for departure at Honolulu International Airport in November 1983, is N904WA, a Douglas DC-10-10, originally delivered to Western Airlines in July 1973, and leased to The Hawaii Express on April 30, 1983. **Departed Wings Slide Collection**
26/08/2022
Only 24, David Neeleman got into the airline business via package tours. Setting up packaged tours didn't need a lot of capital as all the parts, from airfare to hotel, were already out there, they only had to be combined in a single package for the consumer. Before internet booking, package tours were the most convenient way to an exotic vacation.
He rented out unsold condos in Hawaii. Bookings soared and he dropped out of college to run his business full-time. There was one problem- his customers had a difficult time getting good airfares out of Salt Lake City to Honolulu. Figuring he could do better buying blocks of seats on charter/budget airlines, he sought an airline could best meet the needs of his customers.
Enter The Hawaii Express.
They were a small airline that had 2 DC-10s and a single 747 out of LAX to Honolulu. Founded in 1981 by Michael Hartley when he seized opportunity from deregulation, offering cheap fares between Honolulu and Los Angeles.
Neeleman now had budget condos in Hawaii and budget airfares to Hawaii for his customers. All they had to do was find a way to Los Angeles from Salt Lake; most would make the long drive to LAX since the package was so inexpensive.
Soon he was doing $8 million in sales and had 20 employees. Each The Hawaii Express flight had a sizable block of seats set aside for his customers. In 1983, it all fell apart. United Airlines and Western Airlines both had most of passenger traffic between California and Hawaii for quite some time.
A price war ensued and The Hawaii Express shut down in bankruptcy and with the airline went the deposits Neeleman put down for seats. He had no money left to refund his customers' deposits and had to declare bankruptcy.
He lost everything, even his house. He went back to his first job- a cashier in the family grocery store. His father introduced him to a friend, June Morris, who owned the largest travel agency in Salt Lake. The following year, they started Morris Air that was bought by Southwest in 1993.
Images: Frank Duarte, eBay
#747
17/06/2022
FROM LOS ANGELES TO HONOLULU DEPARTARRIVEFLIGHTEQUIPMENTFREQUENCY6:45am9:20amLP 5DC-10Daily11:00am1:35pmLP 1DC-10Daily6:50pm10:25pmLP 7DC-10Daily FROM HONOLULU TO LOS ANGELES DEPARTARRIVEFLIGHTEQUI…
10/06/2022
Boeing 747-100 Hawaii Express LAX Nov., 1982. In addition to the two DC-10s, Hawaii Express also tried flying a 747.
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The Big Pineapple
The Hawaii Express (IATA: LP, ICAO: HEA) was a scheduled passenger airline that operated flights between Los Angeles, California (LAX) and Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL). It was nicknamed "The Big Pineapple" and started service with one Boeing 747aircraft, featuring a unique and detailed paint job with a mango-colored tail and a rainbow-colored stripe down the side.
Founded by Michael Hartley, who would later go on to found Air Hawaii and CheapTickets, the airline began flights on August 20, 1982. The Vice-President of Operations was William Traver. Since the airline wanted to hire personnel with airline experience, the employment ad which ran in the airlines section of Los Angeles Times newspaper classified ads in the spring of 1982 listed previous 747 qualification as a requirement. The airline's original crew members included fifteen pilots, most of whom were from the recently bankrupted Braniff Airlines based in Dallas, Texas, while the original fifty flight attendants were furloughed from various major airlines in the United States. Four of those fifty flight attendants served as permanent pursers/First Flight Attendants. All crew members were based at Los Angeles International Airport with maintenance and gate facilities provided by TWA.
Hawaii Express acquired two McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft in May 1983 to replace the 747, although all three aircraft were operated simultaneously for a while. The Hawaii Express suspended flights on December 20 of that year and filed for bankruptcy the following day.
References
Norwood, Tom W. (1996). Deregulation Knockouts, Round One. Sandpoint, Idaho: Airways International. p. 73. ISBN 0965399303. OCLC 37263082.
Wynbrandt, James (2004). "Chapter 1: The Journey Begins". Flying High. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-65544-9. OCLC 54461996.
