Read this article in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
By Mathew “Manakō” Tanaka
From the ʻōhiʻa lehua blossoms of Hawaiʻi to the pohutukawa flowers of Aotearoa, warm greetings to those who have affection for ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.
There are many proud Hawaiian language speakers at Hawaiian Airlines, but perhaps none as proud as our flight attendants who began our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi flights in 2018. That first neighbor island crew decided to use ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi one day, and the community responded with great positivity. Since then, our Hawaiian language crews, affectionately known as “manu kūkahekahe,” have run ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi flights to many destinations from Fukuoka to Boston.
These special surprise flights are usually not advertised, and we have evolved to distribute engagement cards to teach passengers ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi they can use with flight crew. In addition, all announcements are in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and English to help normalize the language. It’s a special experience for ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi families and supporters alike.
This year, for the first time, our Hawaiian language flight took us to Auckland, New Zealand. During our time there, the crew was able to visit Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia which, was “an expression of the true aloha of our people,” in the words of Kekai Lum, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi flight attendant. We were fortunate for the experience to be able to board their storied decks in a foreign land.
We were also able to visit Whakaata Māori, a televison station that offers programming in the Māori language. We were honored to be welcomed with pōwhiri including chant and an exchange of speeches that celebrated our shared lineage. The station also interviewed some Hawaiian Airlines language speakers about the flight and shared our progress for ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.
All people of Hawaiʻi have responsibility to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and this flight was one that sought sustained life of our language to help address this kuleana. We thank our Hawaiian language flight attendants at Hawaiian Airlines, our friends from Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, as well as our hosts at Whakaata Māori for being so welcoming. May our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi thrive in the four pillars of the globe!
