Business Monday: Immerse yourself in Hawai‘i’s landscapes through Flight of Aloha theater

Customers soon can “fly” over Hawai‘i’s landscapes during an immersive theater experience that uses state-of-the-art 8K visuals on a 160-degree, wrap-around screen, complete with seats that move, and wind and scent effects like a Disney ride.

Flight of Aloha, a six-year passion project of electrical contractor Ola Shaw, finally takes off in Hawaiʻi on Tuesday at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Resort on the Big Island. People can go to flightofaloha.com and book a showing now.

The theater ride initially was set to open in 2023 in Shaw’s hometown of Lahaina. Shaw was also opening a restaurant and Topgolf Swing Suite at the 8,000-square-foot location off Front Street.

“We were a month and a half away from opening before Lahaina burnt down,” he said.

The space was partially destroyed in the fire and damaged equipment.

Shaw’s home also partially burnt down. He rebuilt it and now has neighbors who lost their home living in it. He decided to move his wife and three small kids to the Big Island, where it made more financial sense for him to open the theater ride.

Starting from scratch, Shaw said it took about nine months to get the theater ready for opening in Kona. Shaw said he received a certificate of occupancy from Hawai‘i County last week.

In Kona, the Flight of Aloha will occupy a 1,000-square-foot space. It features 18 seats that are pushed by air, in which people go on a 30-minute, fun cultural journey to see the sights and sounds of the islands, especially of Maui where he grew up.

Customers can watch one of two films: “Naupaka” and “Lahaina.”

“Naupaka” is a great Hawaiian love story and legend about a princess who fell in love with a fisherman. It was completed in 2021 and has been showing at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin.

“Lahaina” recounts the 2023 wildfires and the rebuilding of the old Hawaiian fishing village after the deadly inferno.

“It’s a little more graphic,” Shaw said. “We play some very real footage and talk about the history of Lahaina and the love that came before and after. We’re celebrating the people of Lahaina.”

Shaw, a Native Hawaiian, is one of nine children to loving parents who taught him how to fish, embrace his Hawaiian roots and appreciate the beauty of his home by going on hikes and being on the ocean.

It also was his parents who encouraged him to open a virtual theater ride of Hawai‘i’s landscapes after riding Soarin’ Over California during a family vacation to Disneyland in 2013.

When his dad passed away in 2019, Shaw said it triggered something in him to making his own virtual theater ride a reality in Hawai‘i.

With help from helicopter company Windward Aviation and production company Salt and Air, along with childhood friend and freelance cinematographer Matty Schweitzer, Shaw shot footage around Maui, Lana‘i and Moloka‘i for films during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Schweitzer, also from Maui, said he also shot hundreds of hours of footage all over Maui, including Lahaina, Olowalu reef, Honolua Bay and Ho‘okipa Beach Park. He also got barrel footage at Pe‘ahi, a big wave surf spot also known as Jaws.

Working with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Keiki Kohala Project, Shaw and Schweitzer got whale footage in Maui waters.

Creating a movie for a “flying theater” was a learning curve for Schweitzer. At the risk of causing motion sickness with some of the extreme drone shots, he said he learned he needed to slow things down.

“We need to have moments where there is calm,” Schweitzer said.

The opening of Flight of Aloha in Kona is an exciting moment for Schweitzer as it will finally allow him the chance to show his family the work he’s done over the years, he said, the opening of the ride is a testament to Shaw’s commitment to keep this dream going.

Shaw said Flight of Aloha is about leaving people with a genuine sense of what it is like to grow up in Hawai‘i.

“We come from the most beautiful place on earth,” Shaw said. “I’m not trying to teach history lessons. There’s a lot of people trying to progress our culture.”

Schweitzer and Shaw are also working on a film, “Whale Song,” which documents the journey of a humpback whale calf from Alaska to Hawai‘i.

Shaw hopes to someday bring Flight of Aloha back to Lahaina. Some proceeds from the “Lahaina” film tickets will go back to nonprofits supporting that Maui community.

“Kona really reminds me of Front Street,” Shaw said.

Through this journey of creating Flight of Aloha, Shaw said, his wife and children have been unwavering in their support, adding it has made the challenges and joys worthwhile.

Flight of Aloha is partnered with MediaMation Entertainment, a global leader in immersive entertainment technology. Shaw has a staff of 10 employees, including technicians who run the ride and workers to sell tickets and retail items. Click here for more information.

Cost to watch the films is $29.99 for children and $34.99 for adults. For a double-feature experience, children’s tickets cost $49.99 and $59.99 for adults.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect footage for the upcoming whale film was shot in Maui and Salt and Air is a production company, not a helicopter company.