Kauai is third island connected to San Diego by Alaska Airlines, home of planes with unique paint jobs

Alaska Airlines has added flights to and from San Diego and Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. A ceremonial Hawaiian blessing and reception was sponsored by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. The ribbon-cutting event was held at Lindbergh Field to coincide with the announcement of the non-stop service.

Together with the islands of Maui and Oahu, Kauai is the third island of the 50th state that Alaska Airlines services. Each day the San Diego departure time is 9:55 am. Arrival time for the Boeing 737-800 is 12:35 p.m. Hawaiian time. From Kauai, known as the “Garden Island”, the flight leaves Lihue at 11 a.m. Hawaiian time and arrives at Lindbergh Field at 7:20 p.m.

On certain days, at certain times, the plane making the new San Diego-Lihue run will be one of Alaska Airlines’ famous “painted planes”. The airline announced that Aaron Nee, a student at Hawaii’s Kaiser High School designed the winner in the “Paint-the-Plane” contest.

A panel of judge’s from the airline narrowed all of the entries down to three. At that point, an online voting was made available to anyone in Hawaii, and the high school student’s design was selected. The competition was organized by Alaska Airlines, the Hawaii Department of Education and Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

A traditional canoe, once used to explore new waterways and islands will be on the plane, along with a hibiscus painted shining yellow and the outlines of the main Hawaiian Islands. Written along the side will be the words “Spirit of the Islands.”

A Boeing 737-800 painted with the design began flying from Honolulu on June 3, 2013. This painted plane will circulate to routes of Alaska Airlines’ North American network.

Aaron Nee has additionally won a four free tickets to anywhere Alaska files, as well a scholarship in the amount of $5,000

The popular airline is known for the many custom painted planes it utilizes. Some other well-liked planes are the “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon”, and affiliate Horizon Airline’s planes in the colors logos of western universities that include San Diego State, the University of Washington, Boise State and the University of Oregon.