Hawaiian Airlines scores hot new makeover

Hawaiian Airlines has snagged a total refresh of its brand and livery of Boeing 717.

Hawaii’s national carrier have updated their brand identity and the freshly-painted livery of a Boeing 717 (N488HA), the first of its fleet of more than 50 aircraft that will feature the new design.

Pualani (Flower of the Sky), the beloved icon of Hawaiian’s brand for more than four decades, continues to gaze forward on the tail of the aircraft; beneath, a silver maile lei with woven pakalana flowers wraps around the fuselage in a larger-than-life expression of the aloha spirit.

“Our new livery embodies a stronger, more contemporary representation of Hawaiian Airlines’ culture of service and hospitality, which is the bedrock of our guest experience,” said president and CEO Mark Dunkerley, who unveiled the new brand design at Honolulu International Airport during a special employee event on Lei Day, a statewide annual celebration of Hawaiian culture.

In addition to the refreshed livery, travellers across Hawaiian’s US and international networks will begin to see the new logo throughout their journey – on web and digital assets, airport lobby signage and kiosks, and at boarding gates.

Painting of all aircraft and ground service equipment is scheduled to be complete by 2020. Check out some of the new looks here:

Hawaiian worked with Lippincott, a global creative consultancy, on the new identity,  spending a year studying the airline’s history, working with a committee of front-line employees, and immersing themselves in Hawaiian culture to arrive at the new design.

The new identity retains Hawaiian’s distinctive colour palette of purple, fuchsia and coral. Pualani—the singular icon of the brand—remains at its core.

The new logo and livery emphasise Pualani by featuring her more prominently and liberating her from the floral “holding shape” of the former logo. She gazes proudly with the wind in her hair, adorned with a hibiscus flower and framed by a Hawaiian sunrise. The expressive, organic graphics reflect the natural forms of Hawaii.

The addition of the lei elements to the livery accentuate the three-dimensional contours of the aircraft fuselage while also incorporating a rich, meaningful cultural narrative that reflects the carrier’s strong sense of place and identity.

The new visual identity comes ahead of the next chapter in Hawaiian’s 88-year history with the arrival of the medium-haul, single-aisle A321neo fleet later this year.

It is the next step in a series of major investments Hawaiian has made to aircraft cabins, lounges, and other aspects of the customer experience over the past five years, to elevate the carrier’s service and ensure Hawaiian’s position as the preferred airline for travelers flying to and within Hawaii.

To complement its new phase of growth, the airline will also roll out new uniforms for its frontline employees, themed Kū Mākou or Together We Stand, by the end of 2017.