Hawaiian Airlines debuts its New Zealand service
Hawaiian Airlines launched its inaugural flight to Auckland, New Zealand, this morning with 222 passengers that included seven crewmembers of the Hawaiian sailing canoe Hokule’a, whose groundbreaking 1985 voyage from Hawaii to Waitangi reintroduced the practice of celestial navitgation to the Maori culture.
Nainoa Thompson, who captained Hokule’a on that voyage, was among those aboard the nine-hour flight on a 294-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
Hawaiian will be operating three flights a week to Auckland.