Behind the 800-plus booths at Honolulu’s annual Made in Hawaiʻi Festival were local artisans and entrepreneurs sharing their products and stories with the community — and nearly 80,000 pounds of cargo that moved across the Islands through Hawaiian Air Cargo, helping festival vendors bring their products to market. 

Hawaiian Airlines has been part of the festival since its first event in 1995 and returned as presenting sponsor for this year’s four-day celebration, held Aug. 20-23. The carrier has served as an official airline sponsor since 2018.  

“The Made in Hawaiʻi Festival is special because it gives local entrepreneurs a place to share what they create and grow their businesses,” said Alisa Onishi, managing director of Hawaiʻi Marketing for Hawaiian Airlines. “Hawaiian has supported the festival from the beginning because these businesses strengthen our communities and carry forward Hawaiʻi’s culture and traditions. Helping them reach customers here and beyond our islands is part of how we serve Hawaiʻi.” 

Supporting businesses at the festival and beyond 

More than 80 Hawaiian Airlines and Hawaiian Air Cargo employee volunteers welcomed festivalgoers to its Island Style Mākeke, a space inspired by the familiar character of Hawaiʻi’s farm stands and community markets. Hawaiian shared the space with NOHO Home and Mana Up, highlighting products created through local partnerships. NOHO Home introduced exclusive colorways from its co-branded Leihōkū Collection, while Mana Up featured Hawaiian Airlines collaborations created with Nick Kuchar, Paper Crane Soaps, Lex Breezy, Lahaʻole, Lola Pilar and AVVA.

Supporting Hawaiʻi’s makers also means helping them get their products where they need to go. For the festival, Hawaiian Air Cargo partnered with vendors to help transport nearly 40 tons of cargo across Maui, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island for the four-day event.  

More cargo capacity in the wings for Hawai‘i

Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo are also investing in the future of air freight in Hawai‘i, with plans to add four freighters to our dedicated cargo fleet and effectively doubling our freighter capacity. The aircraft are expected to enter service during the first half of 2027 and will serve Alaska and Hawaiʻi, with plans for Hawaiʻi-based aircraft to carry the Hawaiian Air Cargo livery.  

For Hawaiʻi businesses, the added capacity will provide greater reliability when moving goods and create more opportunities to reach customers through the combined airline’s growing global network.   

Later this year, we will expand cargo capacity between Hawai'i and the continental U.S. with new service and additional lift across key markets. Three additional weekly Airbus A330 flights between Honolulu (HNL) and Las Vegas (LAS) will add valuable widebody capacity for the upcoming winter. We're also expanding our Hawai'i network with new nonstop seasonal service between Honolulu and Boise (BOI) and between Honolulu and Spokane (GEG).  

For international shippers, our global hub in Honolulu provides daily nonstop cargo service to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Osaka Kansai (KIX), as well as regular year-round flights to Sydney (SYD) and more destinations across the South Pacific and Asia. We reach markets across four continents and are proud to connect our customers with 110-plus destinations throughout our worldwide network. 

 About Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo 

Together, Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo reach 110-plus cargo destinations around the world, including cities across Asia, the South Pacific and Europe. With more than 90 years of experience carrying vital shipments to remote communities, our air cargo teams share deep connections to the communities where we live, work and fly.