70 years ago today, UA began service between SFO-HNL, utilizing Douglas DC-6 aircraft. The flight took 8 1/2 hours.
There was no commercial air service between the mainland and the islands during the war. Compare UA flight times
with Pan Am in 1940. That service took 17 hours to make the trip, using Martin M-130 Flying Boats. The airfare was
$278. OW. UA's 1947 fares were half that, and UA offered 9 day tours with air, hotel and tours for $629 RT.
United is generally recognized with new equipment, low fares and extensive marketing of giving Hawaii the post-war
tourism kick start it needed to become a world class resort destination.

Those were the days for sure. How long before they introduced the B377's to that route?

Uh oh, a somewhat positive UA posting. Stand by for incoming.

Just for fun, let's see if I can list every airport that UA has served Hawaii from.

SFO
LAX
SAN
OAK
SJC
ONT
PDX
SEA
DEN
ORD
JFK
BWI
IAD
IAH (from CO)
EWR (from CO)

The Boeing 377, a derivative of the B-29 first flew to Hawaii with Pan Am in 1949. UA flew the model
to Hawaii in January, 1950. The aircraft had maintenance problems with the huge engines. There were
only 55 built.

BoeingGuy wrote:

Just for fun, let's see if I can list every airport that UA has served Hawaii from.

SFO
LAX
SAN
OAK
SJC
ONT
PDX
SEA
DEN
ORD
JFK
BWI
IAD
IAH (from CO)
EWR (from CO)

SNA as well

Happy Anniversary United! Thanks for all the service all these years! And May 1st is Lei Day in Hawaii - so Happy Lei Day everyone!

BoeingGuy wrote:

Just for fun, let's see if I can list every airport that UA has served Hawaii from.

SFO
LAX
SAN
OAK
SJC
ONT
PDX
SEA
DEN
ORD
JFK
BWI
IAD
IAH (from CO)
EWR (from CO)

in addition to SNA mentioned above:

SYD
AKL
NRT
KIX
GUM
MAJ

to add to the airport list, don't forget:
Chuuk TKK
Kosrae KSA
Pohnpei PNI
and Kwajalein KWA

KWA is where the USAF sent the Minuteman III 5 days ago from Vandenberg AFB

You can't get off there to stretch your legs while flying the UA 738 Island Hopper,
as it's a military base

friendlyskies22 wrote:

The airfare was
$278. OW. UA's 1947 fares were half that,

Those who complain that tickets cost too much or premium cabins cost too much need to take notice. That 1947 airfare is $1,561 in 2017 dollars, one way from SFO to HNL. Today with 21 day advance notice you can buy one way tickets SFO to HNL for $564 in economy and for as low as $873 in first.

friendlyskies22 wrote:

The Boeing 377, a derivative of the B-29 first flew to Hawaii with Pan Am in 1949. UA flew the model
to Hawaii in January, 1950. The aircraft had maintenance problems with the huge engines. There were
only 55 built.

Yes I know that as I flew the C97G while in the Van Nuys ANG 146th. Interesting to say the least.

Well, if we're including the Island Hopper and ex-CO destinations, then maybe it's worth a mention of Johnston Island, which was a stopover when 727s flew the route (as they didn't have the range to make MAJ nonstop).

I love watching the original Hawaii Five-O series. Lots of airport scenes with UA DC-8s and 747s.

mmahpeel wrote:

BoeingGuy wrote:

Just for fun, let's see if I can list every airport that UA has served Hawaii from.

SFO
LAX
SAN
OAK
SJC
ONT
PDX
SEA
DEN
ORD
JFK
BWI
IAD
IAH (from CO)
EWR (from CO)

in addition to SNA mentioned above:

SYD
AKL
NRT
KIX
GUM
MAJ

Yeah, I meant mainland, but those are correct.

In the early 1970s, UA also flew HNL-DTW nonstop, with DC-8-62s. The flights continued to EWR.

Also by Continental was Johnston Atoll Airport (JON/PJON) now closed.

Hong Kong was served briefly nonstop with L-1011-500's right after the PanAm Pacific Route Acquisition.

For very brief periods of time time there was HNL-HKG and HNL-ICN (maybe it was still Kimpo?) non-stop service.

I also believe UA still holds the largest market share between the Mainland and Hawaii for both passengers and cargo. It is also the only airline to serve all 5 major airports to the Mainland. United has a very long, rich history connecting people to Hawaii and Hawaii to the World. Hau'oli la ho'omana'o United and to many more years to come.

77H

My mom was a flight attendant @ UA in the 70s and has many fond memories of those flights, would have loved to fly back "in those days."

IPFreely wrote:

friendlyskies22 wrote:

The airfare was
$278. OW. UA's 1947 fares were half that,

Those who complain that tickets cost too much or premium cabins cost too much need to take notice. That 1947 airfare is $1,561 in 2017 dollars, one way from SFO to HNL. Today with 21 day advance notice you can buy one way tickets SFO to HNL for $564 in economy and for as low as $873 in first.

The flight is also much faster. And many magnitudes more people are flying the route. However, shouldn't services become cheaper over time? As planes get more efficient, better, faster, etc fares should fall. Everyone is always going to want to be there sooner, faster and for less money. It is what makes the world advance.

On my first trip to Hawaii in 2009, I flew JFK-LAX-LIH (and LIH-SFO-JFK) on the return, all on 757-200s. All but one segment (SFO-JFK, which was delayed 4.5 hours and not acceptable for what was still then a premium transcontinental service), each flight was great. I deliberately selected UA because I always associated Hawaii with United and vice versa. Went back to Hawaii in 2010 (EWR-HNL-LIH and LIH-HNL-EWR), in 2012 (EWR-HNL), and 2013 (EWR-SFO-LIH) and again found a fleeting spirit of Hawaii on each UA (and CO) flight. Lots of history here in this market.

Cointrin330 wrote:

On my first trip to Hawaii in 2009, I flew JFK-LAX-LIH (and LIH-SFO-JFK) on the return, all on 757-200s. All but one segment (SFO-JFK, which was delayed 4.5 hours and not acceptable for what was still then a premium transcontinental service), each flight was great. I deliberately selected UA because I always associated Hawaii with United and vice versa. Went back to Hawaii in 2010 (EWR-HNL-LIH and LIH-HNL-EWR), in 2012 (EWR-HNL), and 2013 (EWR-SFO-LIH) and again found a fleeting spirit of Hawaii on each UA (and CO) flight. Lots of history here in this market.

I grew up in Hawaii, and can remember flying United to and from the mainland to visit family on the east coast. Generally on DC7's (United flew the DC7, not the 7B or 7C on the route) and later on the DC8's, Super DC8's, and 747's. Flight attendants were generally Hawaii based and wore Muu Muu's (the wome) and Aloha Shirts (the men). Food had a Hawaiian theme as well. William Patterson, the President of United back in the day, was actually from Hawaii and I think that played a role.

The only competition that United had in the 1950's and 1960s (until 1969) was Pan Am, which flew Stratocrusiers until 1960 or so and DC7C's, before introducing 707's on the Hawaii route (United only flew LAX/SFO-HNL-LAX/SFO; Northwest had a service to/from SEA/PDX, also in competition with Pan Am). Other than a few non-scheduled lines (TransOcean, Standard, USOA, etc.) that was it to Hawaii in the day.

BTW, Continental got their routes to Hawaii in 1969 by promising a new Economy fare of $85 each way. That was a reduction from the typical coach fare of $110 in 1969. Boy have things changed.

In the last few years on Pan Am in 1990 and 1991 Pan Am had $99 OW fares. When I got onboard they were playing the Pan Am Theme song until the Safety Demo. I remember
Pan Am restarted LAX-HNL-LAX in the final Years. OMG I miss my friends.

Many things about the Hawaii service used to be unique to the Hawaii service. Sadly, about the only way to tell now is the Hawaii Ag form westbound.

Do they still play the half way to Hawaii game? As a flight attendant, I loved to pass out those bottles of champagne to the winner.

I was there during the transition from the DC-10/747 to the new high density 777 as the island flagship. I worked 747-238Bs on SFO-KOA a few times, and then got used to the new 348 seat "77A" right as they came off the assembly line. You could always tell a new airplane from the outside because the central body cone coming out of the hot section on the PW4000 engine (I think those airplanes are PW4077 powered?) was blue. We worked it with 13 flight attendants back then, 4 up front and 9 in the back. The galley flight attendant stayed in the coach galley prepping the food and beverage carts for the 8 flight attendants who worked the aisles. The service went fast despite 312 people in coach and a lot of special meals. A nice OGG layover on a brand new airplane was an amazing experience for a person in my early-20s!

Congrats to everyone at UA for 70 years in Hawaii!

while we're discussing UA and Hawaii, one of the interesting flights that UA operated to HNL occurred on August 19, 1974. The aircraft,
a DC-8-62 had a stretcher set up over the C/D seats in FC, and the passenger travelling JFK-HNL was Charles Lindbergh. For those
of you under 40, I have a link below for a description of this person and his achievements. I don't think his life is discussed
anymore in history class, but he was the first person to fly solo from America to Europe. This took place in 1927.
The flight took 33 hours, and in the aircraft specially made for him by Ryan in San Diego lacked the ability to see forward,
as the engine was in front of him.
Mr. Lindbergh was taken by private plane HNL-HNM (Hana, Maui), and he died there 7 days later.
His tombstone is in the graveyard at Palapala Ho'omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui. A beautiful setting, and worth the drive.
The inscription reads: "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea"

Now you know how the airport in San Diego got its name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh

P.

YAY!!!, Sound like a lot of Fun!!!

Hey FriendlySkies22... Great Info and Nice Link!. I live in SAN.

Good memories flying the 747-200 from HNL-ORD and getting to hang out upstairs in the lounge. I'd won a first class trip when in college...it was a promotion after a strike in 1979 and I won a first class trip to any three domestic UA cities. I took them for all I could...SEA-HNL, HNL-NYC via ORD, NYC-MIA and then MIA-SEA. Quite a trip for a kid just out of college and I'd caught the airline bug. Have been a FA ever since...36 years now. I was in HNL on vacation when my friends and co-workers died on AS 261...UA crew took good care of this bawling passenger on the flight home the day after the tragedy. Thank you, UA!

TW870 wrote:

Do they still play the half way to Hawaii game? As a flight attendant, I loved to pass out those bottles of champagne to the winner.

I was there during the transition from the DC-10/747 to the new high density 777 as the island flagship. I worked 747-238Bs on SFO-KOA a few times, and then got used to the new 348 seat "77A" right as they came off the assembly line. You could always tell a new airplane from the outside because the central body cone coming out of the hot section on the PW4000 engine (I think those airplanes are PW4077 powered?) was blue. We worked it with 13 flight attendants back then, 4 up front and 9 in the back. The galley flight attendant stayed in the coach galley prepping the food and beverage carts for the 8 flight attendants who worked the aisles. The service went fast despite 312 people in coach and a lot of special meals. A nice OGG layover on a brand new airplane was an amazing experience for a person in my early-20s!

Congrats to everyone at UA for 70 years in Hawaii!

Unfortunantly half way to Hawaii is gone that scumbag Smizek cut it.

Before Half Way to Hawaii disappeared, the prize became a Hilo Hatties gift certificate. Then it just disappeared. Sad. Might as well be flying CLE-IAH or something equally meh.

superjeff wrote:

I grew up in Hawaii, and can remember flying United to and from the mainland to visit family on the east coast. Generally on DC7's (United flew the DC7, not the 7B or 7C on the route) and later on the DC8's, Super DC8's, and 747's. Flight attendants were generally Hawaii based and wore Muu Muu's (the wome) and Aloha Shirts (the men). Food had a Hawaiian theme as well. William Patterson, the President of United back in the day, was actually from Hawaii and I think that played a role.

The only competition that United had in the 1950's and 1960s (until 1969) was Pan Am, which flew Stratocrusiers until 1960 or so and DC7C's, before introducing 707's on the Hawaii route (United only flew LAX/SFO-HNL-LAX/SFO; Northwest had a service to/from SEA/PDX, also in competition with Pan Am). Other than a few non-scheduled lines (TransOcean, Standard, USOA, etc.) that was it to Hawaii in the day.

BTW, Continental got their routes to Hawaii in 1969 by promising a new Economy fare of $85 each way. That was a reduction from the typical coach fare of $110 in 1969. Boy have things changed.

When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother rediscovered a treasure trove of old family photos. Among those was a Christmas 1957 trip they took from LAX to the Hawaiian islands. There was a photo of them at Mike Lyman's restaurant atop the old Los Angeles airport terminal, an open-air ramp filled with propliners and the United DC-7 they rode to Honolulu. The Douglas DC-7 with prop spinners, a radome and the then-new mid-to-late fifties livery looked sleeker and many knots faster than earlier United versions circa 1954.

The DC-7 was advertised as having a true airspeed of 365 mph. That was probably an exaggeration, but for United possibly its only selling point for Red Carpet passengers used to the sprawling cabin of the luxurious Boeing Stratocruiser. I wonder how many United passengers in the 1950s abandoned United for Pan Am where they could still enjoy their Mai Tais downstairs in the lounge?

weekendppl wrote:

Before Half Way to Hawaii disappeared, the prize became a Hilo Hatties gift certificate. Then it just disappeared. Sad. Might as well be flying CLE-IAH or something equally meh.

The former management team had no time or patience for traditions that they themselves hadn't been part of. As far as they were concerned, the Hawaii routes were no different than CLE-IAH. All part of the strategy of wallpapering over the legacies of two storied airlines. </rant>

My mom's side of the family is from Hawaii, and what I remember most about visiting in the 1980s was the sheer number of United aircraft you'd see on the ground there. The Diamond Head concourse at HNL was usually nothing but United 747s and DC10s, and after the terminal expansion in the mid Eighties, United had an entire check-in lobby (Lobby 8) all to itself. American and Delta had some tag services to OGG in those days, but United was flying to all four main islands. You really felt like they were the leader.

Congratulations United for a milestone of service to Hawaii. Hundreds of thousands of passengers should Thank You for their safe journey to these beautiful islands.
I was based in Washington, and flew UA on a IAD-LAX-HNL DC-8/747 routing as a non-rev in the early 70's. I had originally planned to fly on a Monday but had emergency dental care on that day, and moved my trip to Tuesday. I arrived in LAX and boarded the 747 to discover there were less than 50 of us total on the plane that day. The F/A's announced all coach passengers to move forward and we were re-seated in a forward compartment near the then coach lounge. Once airborne the party began. First Class passengers even came back to this area to join in the fun. We all ate and drank for almost 5 hours with a fun and happy crew.
My return was on the same routing via LAX. We were given boarding passes oncel boarding had been completed and just as we stepped on board the plane it was announced the flight was delayed due to "maintenance servicing."
The agent who had boarded me was running up the jetway directly behind me. He pulled me aside and said "this flight will be cancelled. Run to gate # for the SFO flight and my buddy in SFO will get you to IAD." I turned, ran down the jetway, handed the agents at the SFO gate my boarding pass to LAX and they responded "just find any empty seat." I made it to SFO with a direct connection to IAD on a redeye, with SFO "buddy" saying "you're the one Charlie said was going to IAD. Pick any seat and sorry you can't ride up front."
Thanks guys. Above and beyond service for a non-rev when a loaded 747 was about to cancel.
I also flew BAL (BWI now) HNL nonstop on a DC-8-62 "Super 8 to the Aloha State". I had the 3 seat last row all to myself, and ate and drank (Primo Beer) my way to Hawaii in 11 hours. Crew was fantastic and the Trader Vic's "Hawaiian Cuisine" was teriyaki chicken and rice with Pineapple Sorbet for dessert. The Mai Tai's flowed but I stuck with the cold Primo.
And a Thank You to Sheraton Surfrider Hotel and Tropical Rent-A-Car for cheap airline discount rates. Sheraton "mountainview rooms" were $19 per night (50% off airline rate) and Tropical charged $5 per day for a small Datsun sedan regular customers would not drive! Can you imagine a $38 hotel room in HNL nowadays?
Thank You again United for making possible memorable Hawaiian vacations for this poor airline employee.

while we're discussing UA and Hawaii, one of the interesting flights that UA operated to HNL occurred on August 19, 1974. The aircraft,
a DC-8-62 had a stretcher set up over the C/D seats in FC, and the passenger travelling JFK-HNL was Charles Lindbergh. For those
of you under 40, I have a link below for a description of this person and his achievements. I don't think his life is discussed
anymore in history class, but he was the first person to fly solo from America to Europe. This took place in 1927.
The flight took 33 hours, and in the aircraft specially made for him by Ryan in San Diego lacked the ability to see forward,
as the engine was in front of him.
Mr. Lindbergh was taken by private plane HNL-HNM (Hana, Maui), and he died there 7 days later.
His tombstone is in the graveyard at Palapala Ho'omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui. A beautiful setting, and worth the drive.
The inscription reads: "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea"

Now you know how the airport in San Diego got its name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh

P.

I visited there last December. What am amazing place, so out of the way and beautiful. As my sister said, "What a place to rest."

And yes, we do talk about him in history class, at least the ones that I teach. Now, some other teachers... Don't get me started.

I recall when the UA flight attendants has a flowered uniform on flights to/from the islands. The last remanents I saw of that was a FA wearing a fake plumeria flower on her lapel about 5 years ago. When I commented on it, she said she bought the item herself and said the memories were wonderful. I noticed they've stopped the halfway game. The only memorable flight on UA that I can recall was being on UA's first 747 flight from SFO to KOA. It was sometime in the early 90's. They passed out a printed page to each passenger announcing the event. The 747 did a flyover of the runway before returning to land. We were greeted by a small band. Ah, the memories.

The High And The Mighty.

Nadi was also served for a year or less from HNL. Airplane operated HNL-NAN-GUM.

Flew UA (as a non-rev) to HNL and ITO many times. I was too young to appreciate the view from the upper deck then. Loved the 747s and DC10s out of ORD. Only when there was trouble did we go via LAX or SAN.

In the early 70s, back when I was little, UA would fly in fresh Hawaiian pineapple to FWA and the proceeds from the sales supported the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo (one of the top-rated zoos in the nation). Can't be sure, but I think it flew free. The UA employees would pull into the freight house with two heaping car-loads of pineapple after every flight from ORD. This charity event lasted about two weeks every year. Find something like that, today.

77H wrote:

I also believe UA still holds the largest market share between the Mainland and Hawaii for both passengers and cargo.

77H

Not even close

airportugal310 wrote:

77H wrote:

I also believe UA still holds the largest market share between the Mainland and Hawaii for both passengers and cargo.

77H

Not even close

Who does then? HA?

Curious after UA, was Pan Am next or NW or another carrier?

Last time I tried to back into capacity mainland->HI, for a week in June of 2015, UAL flew, by my count, 51,928 seats and, in second place was HAL at 42,600. Following were AAL 31,130, ASA 25,046, DAL 20,716. Things may have changes since then, but I'm skeptical.

airportugal310 wrote:

77H wrote:

I also believe UA still holds the largest market share between the Mainland and Hawaii for both passengers and cargo.

77H

Not even close

Would need to run the numbers again but last time I did UA was ahead of HA and the rest of the US carriers by quite a bit. Things could have changed since last year but UA added a bit of capacity to Hawaii this summer.

airportugal310 wrote:

77H wrote:

I also believe UA still holds the largest market share between the Mainland and Hawaii for both passengers and cargo.

77H

Not even close

Airportportugal310, please see weekendppl's post below for more information. However, I decided to put your assertion of "not even close" to the test. As I don't have access to weekendppl's data at the moment I added up seat counts for all flights departing all Hawaiian Island Airports today for both airlines to get a snapshot of what each has on offering. I understand that there are DOW and seasonal variances to both airlines schedules to and from the mainland but a Tuesday at the start of March can give us a ballpark picture.

Since I don't have access to exactly what configurations HA is running on their mainland flights I just assumed their densest configuration for my figures.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
HNL – LAS 2x 332 (588 seats)
HNL – LAX 3x 332 (882 seats)
HNL – JFK 1x 332 (294 seats)
HNL – OAK 1x 332 (294 seats)
HNL – PHX 1x763 (264 seats)
HNL – PDX 1x 332 (294 seats)
HNL – SMF 1x 763 (264 seats)
HNL – SAN 1x 332 (294 seats)
HNL – SFO 1x 332 (294 seats)
HNL – SEA 1x 332 (294 seats)
TOTAL: 3762 seats

OGG – LAX 1x 332 (294 seats)
OGG – OAK 1x763 (264 seats)
OGG – SFO 1x 332 (294 seats)
OGG – SJC 1x 763 (264 seats)
OGG – SEA 1x 332 (294 seats)
TOTAL: 1410 seats

No Current Flights From ITO/KOA/LIH to Mainland

Grand Total: 3762+1410= 5172 seats

UNITED AIRLINES
HNLDEN 1x 772 (364 seats)
HNLEWR 1x 763 (214 seats)
HNLIAH 1x 772 (364 seats)
HNLLAX 1x739, 1x 753, 1x 772 (756 seats)
HNLORD 1x 772 (364 seats)
HNLSFO 4x 739, 1x 772 (1080 seats)
TOTAL: 3142 seats

OGGDEN 1x752 (169 seats)
OGGLAX 1x738 (332 seats)
OGGSFO 2x738, 1x 772 (696 seats)
TOTAL: 1197 seats

KOALAX 1x 739 (179 seats)
KOASFO 2x 739 (358 seats)
TOTAL: 537 seats

LIHLAX 1x 752 (169 seats)
LIHSFO 1x 752 (169 seats)
TOTAL: 338 seats

ITOLAX 1x 738 (166 seats)
TOTAL: 166 seats

3142+1197+537+338+166= 5380 seats

Looking at just today, UA has 208 more seats available to(from) the mainland than HA. Again, it is understood that both airlines have DOW and seasonal variances but I am uncertain how you posit that UA is not even close?

77H

Thanks 77H....I took your post and ran with it a bit

Looking at a full week ( the second week of May to be precise.)

UA has 41393 seats in the market between the mainland and HA
HA has 37968 seats in the market between the mainland and HA

HA is larger than UA in HNL and OGG but UA makes up for it with its service to LIH, KOA and ITO.

UA:
HNL 25923
OGG 7339
KOA 4808
LIH 2493
ITO 830

HA:
HNL 28098
OGG 9870

UAs largest market is HNL-SFO with 9666 seats and HAs largest market is HNL-LAX with 6174 seats.

What's sort of incredible about these numbers is it's not peak season for either carrier.

When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother rediscovered a treasure trove of old family photos. Among those was a Christmas 1957 trip they took from LAX to the Hawaiian islands. There was a photo of them at Mike Lyman's restaurant atop the old Los Angeles airport terminal, an open-air ramp filled with propliners and the United DC-7 they rode to Honolulu. The Douglas DC-7 with prop spinners, a radome and the then-new mid-to-late fifties livery looked sleeker and many knots faster than earlier United versions circa 1954.

The DC-7 was advertised as having a true airspeed of 365 mph. That was probably an exaggeration, but for United possibly its only selling point for Red Carpet passengers used to the sprawling cabin of the luxurious Boeing Stratocruiser. I wonder how many United passengers in the 1950s abandoned United for Pan Am where they could still enjoy their Mai Tais downstairs in the lounge?[/quote]

I only flew the Statocruiser once, from SFO to HNL, but I was only 5 years old so although I vaguely remember the downstairs lounge, I didn't really get to spend any time there . But the Strat was significantly slower than the DC7's so that might have made about a 1/2 hour to 45 minute difference on an 8+ hour flight from SFO or LAX to HNL.