Aloha Airlines History: Hawaii's Funbirds (1946–2008) – Airline Employee Shop

Aloha Airlines History

Aloha Airlines began as a small charter airline in 1946 and spent more than six decades flying Hawaii's island skies before it ended passenger service in 2008. Here's a short history of Aloha, plus Aloha Airlines items that celebrate it.

Trans-Pacific Airlines (1946–1957)

Publisher Ruddy F. Tongg Sr. founded Trans-Pacific Airlines in Honolulu as a challenger to Hawaiian Airlines. Its first flight, on July 26, 1946, used a war-surplus Douglas DC-3 from Honolulu to Maui and Hilo. After a long legal fight, the airline won approval for scheduled service in 1949, with President Harry S. Truman signing its certificate that February. It posted its first annual profit, about $36,000, in 1952.

Becoming Aloha (late 1950s–1968)

In the late 1950s, under chief executive Hung Wo Ching, the airline took the name Aloha Airlines. Fairchild F-27 turboprops arrived in 1959 and helped lift Aloha's share of the inter-island market to about 40 percent. The last DC-3 was retired in 1961, and Vickers Viscounts joined in 1963. Aloha's first jet, a BAC One-Eleven, reached Honolulu on April 16, 1966.

The Funbird years (1969–1999)

Boeing 737-200s, nicknamed "Funbirds," entered service in 1969, and Aloha became all-jet in 1971 when it sold its last Viscount. In 1986 it began flights from Honolulu to Kiritimati (Christmas Island). On April 28, 1988, Flight 243 from Hilo to Honolulu lost part of its upper fuselage in flight. The crew landed safely on Maui, but flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing was killed, and the accident led to new inspection standards for aging aircraft.

Mainland flights and farewell (2000–2008)

On February 14, 2000, Aloha began service to the U.S. mainland with Boeing 737-700s. The airline filed for Chapter 11 at the end of 2004 and emerged in 2006. After a second bankruptcy filing in March 2008, Aloha flew its last passenger flights on March 31, 2008.

A few things collectors love

  • Aloha's 737-200s were affectionately known as "Funbirds."
  • Aloha was the first airline to operate 737-200s approved for long overwater ETOPS flights, on its Kiritimati route.

Shop Aloha Airlines

Browse Aloha Airlines items, including logo T-shirts, coffee mugs, coasters and vintage designs where available. Add an airline bag tag or key tag for the island traveler in your life.

AirlineEmployeeShop.com is an independent retailer of airline memorabilia. This page is for historical interest.