Passengers flying from Honolulu to Las Vegas will hear instructions in the Hawaiian language
Aloha, e komo mai! Passengers flying from the tropical islands of Hawaii to Las Vegas with Hawaiian Airlines on Friday will have a unique chance to hear the traditional language, ’Ōlelo, during their flight.
As the preservation of traditional Hawaiian language has become a hot topic in the islands, the local flag carrier has decided to help it bring into everyday business use.
The airline will bring fluent ’Ōlelo speakers on board to give the cabin announcements in the traditional tongue.
“Flight attendants onboard HA18 to Las Vegas will transform the journey into a one-of-a-kind cultural experience by engaging with guests in both ’Ōlelo Hawaii and English,” the company told Hawaii News Now.
“The initiative is an extension of the airline’s commitment to honour and share our Islands’ unique culture with guests visiting Hawaii,” a company spokesperson said.
Not only will the in-flight announcements be done in Hawaiian, but passengers will be given their announcements in ’Ōlelo at the gate as well.
Hawaiian Airlines says it hopes to expand and formalize the language immersion program in the coming months.
The carrier even asked Dr. Larry Kimura, for many locals known as “the grandfather of Hawaiian language revitalization”, to board the plane on Friday.
The idea of using the language for cabin announcements has been already tested on four local flights to Hilo at the start of Merrie Monarch last week.
’Ōlelo has been slowly moving back into modern day business, recently.
The possibilities of reviving the tongue captivated local news because of an incident during a court. A judge refused to acknowledge a protester he identified himself in Hawaiian. Despite the fact that ’Ōlelo is an official language of the state.
