Hawaiian Airlines Expands Cargo Flights

Interisland shipping services are expected to expand for Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, announced Tuesday that it plans to obtain three ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in an all-cargo configuration to expand its interisland shipping services.

Flights from Honolulu International Airport to both the Kona and Hilo International Airports will be among the locations on the scheduled flight plan, set to begin during the first half of 2016. Flights from Honolulu to Kahului Airport on Maui and Lihu’e Airport on Kauai are also expected to be among the starter flights. Hawaiian says the flights will have well-timed connections from Hawaiian Airlines’ mainland and international network.

Hawaiian Airlines officials say 18,000 pounds of cargo can be carried on the ATR 72 fleet, including five 88-by-108 inch aircraft pallets or seven LD3 containers, skidded cargo, and oversized shipments.

“Our customers have asked for a single-provider solution for movement to all major destinations within the state of Hawai’i,” said Tim Strauss, Hawaiian’s vice president of cargo sales and services. “Our ability to handle interisland containerized and palletized cargo will provide greater flexibility for our customers seeking seamless connections from our long-haul flights, and it will help grow our business on both our wide-body and B717 services.”

Empire Airlines will operate the fleet, branded as ‘Ohana by Hawaiian. Empire also operates the 48-passenger ATR 42 turboprop service.

Hawaiian says the aircraft will feature the same kapa tail patterns that Sig Zane and his son Kuha’o created

“Since launching the ‘Ohana by Hawaiian passenger operation in March 2014, we have established a track record of providing a reliable and efficient service for travel within the islands with an on-time arrival rate of 94 percent,” said Hadden Watt, managing director of ‘Ohana by Hawaiian. “We expect to deliver the same reliability and high-quality of service to our cargo customers for their interisland shipments.

More than 100 new jobs are expected to be created by the new cargo operation. The jobs will range from pilots and mechanics to customer service and management positions.