Hawaiian Airlines yesterday celebrated the opening of an Information Technology Center in Arizona, the carrier’s largest office outside Hawaii. The 15,000-square-foot center in Tempe will house 60 employees, nearly 30 percent of the company’s team of 220 IT professionals — but the company plans to double the size of its Arizona team.

With the opening of the new facility, Hawaiian Airlines tells HawaiiTech.com that a handful of employees relocated from Honolulu to Arizona.

The company says the new space increases its ability to hire IT professionals across the U.S. mainland, and to seek specific skillsets, such as expertise in technologies like MongoDB and Mulesoft. But the expanded team “complements” its business-facing IT functions and intra-company operations that remain headquartered in Honolulu.

“As of today, 6,800 of Hawaiian’s 7,400 employees are proudly based in Hawaii,” the company told HawaiiTech.com. “We will continue to invest in our infrastructure and staffing in Hawaii while maintaining our strong economic impact as the hometown carrier.”

From left: Kevin Sullivan, executive vice president of sales and client services for the Arizona Commerce Authority, Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO, Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell, and John Jacobi, senior vice president for Information Technology at Hawaiian Airlines, at the dedication ceremony for the airline’s new IT center in Tempe, Ariz.

After a multi-state search, Hawaiian Airlines chose Tempe, Ariz., in part because of its daily nonstop service to Phoenix, which it has offered since October 2002 and has served as a regional hub for the southwestern U.S.

“The route, operated by our long-haul Airbus A330, continues to perform well,” a Hawaiian Airlines spokesman said. “We carried more than 172,000 passengers between HNL and PHX in 2019.”

Hawaiian Airlines operated a temporary IT office in Arizona last year prior to moving into the new facility two months ago. The carrier says it plans to recruit employees through partnerships with Arizona State University and other local educational institutions to offer IT internships and recruit positions ranging from software engineers and architects to database managers and business analysts.

Arizona officials were elated to have Hawaiian Airlines’ support.

“This new Hawaiian Airlines technology center is another significant addition to Arizona’s tech sector, which is growing at a rate 40 percent faster than the rest of the country,” said Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in a press release.

“We’re so honored that… Hawaiian Airlines chose Tempe for its new IT center,” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell added. “It’s a testament to the terrific access to talent and competitive cost of living in our community. We’re pleased to welcome them and can’t think of a better place for these excellent tech jobs to land!”

Sandra Watson, Arizona Commerce Authority president and CEO, said: “Hawaiian Airlines’ selection of Tempe for its new IT operation demonstrates the high quality of tech talent and pro-business climate our state provides to growing companies. We thank Hawaiian Airlines for investing in Arizona and creating new jobs for our residents.”

The facility opening ceremony included a Hawaiian blessing.

“We appreciate the warm welcome we have received throughout Arizona in support of our IT center, and we are delighted to grow our business in a state we have enjoyed serving with nonstop flights to Hawaii for nearly two decades,” Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Peter Ingram said in its press release. “Our Tempe office will augment the core work of our Honolulu team to advance our IT systems across departments so we may continue to deliver the greatest value to our guests.”

About Hawaiian Airlines

Now in its 91st year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawaii’s biggest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides, on average, more than 170 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, and over 260 daily flights system-wide.

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