Aloha, Imua!
Southwest Airlines celebrated the fourth anniversary of its first commercial flight to Hawaii on Friday by revealing its newest special livery aircraft at an event at Long Beach Airport (LGB).
Imua One is the name given to the new Boeing 737 MAX 8 and is the airline's 14th state-themed paint job (including America's aircraft Freedom One, which is covered in the American flag). Imua One is the rallying cry in the native Hawaiian language. It stands out, nevertheless, being the first one without a pattern focused on the state flag.
Instead, the airline collaborated with Herman Pi'ikea Clark, an indigenous artist from the area, and the Honolulu-based Osaki Creative Group to create a holistic design that combines numerous facets of Hawaiian culture and values with Southwest's logo.
The jet flew above the runway, made a circle, and landed to cheers from the crowd that included workers, members of the media, and representatives from the city and airport. After that, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan delivered a speech.
Airlines staff members and other officials placed an enormous traditional lei over the aircraft's nose for a photo after Hawaiian minister Kordell C. L. Kekoa blessed and dedicated it.
The eight main components of the design "represent concepts in Hawaiian culture that also align with Southwest values," the airline said in a press statement.
The concepts, according to the airline, are primarily conceptual and abstract in nature. They comprise:
• Ohana (family).
• Honu (turtle).
• Aina (land).
• Ama (support).
• Hoku (star).
• Kai (ocean).
• Lokahi (unity).
• Imua (forward).
According to Southwest, the symbols are organized in bands that span the airplane across a color gradient that blends from yellow to red to blue, conjuring visions of a sunset. Additionally, the branding of Southwest is included.
The first Southwest aircraft to have its new cabin design, which includes power ports at every seat and wider overhead bins, is Imua One, which has the tail number N8710M.
The airline will fly the new aircraft to Honolulu after the Long Beach event. To raise crew morale as the airline works to recover from the brand harm caused by a meltdown over the holiday season, it will travel to each island and host a party for them.
Southwest utilizes its older, dependable 737 workhorses as well, but its 737 MAX fleet is especially well-equipped for the Hawaii trips. In reality, during the 2019 and 2020 grounding of the more recent MAX, the airline increased the service.
Southwest's Hawaii service took some time to develop entirely, with delays brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic and the MAX's grounding. The airline now offers service to Honolulu, Maui, Kona, Hilo, and Lihue airports. There are flights from eight mainland cities:
• Long Beach, California.
• Oakland, California.
• Sacramento.
• San Jose, California.
• Los Angeles.
• San Diego.
• Las Vegas.
• Phoenix.
Unlike other mainland airlines that fly to Hawaii, Southwest also offers interisland service. As of April, Southwest was operating 90 departures a day. Sixty of these were interisland departures, putting renewed pressure on Hawaiian Airlines.
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