The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Rainbow Warrior football team departed Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport August 27 onboard a Hawaiian Airlines charter flight to San Jose, California, ahead of the team’s 2026 season opener against Stanford on August 29.
As the official airline of UH Athletics, Hawaiian is the team’s exclusive charter airline for the 2026 football season, supporting the travel needs of players, coaches and staff throughout the year.
Under a historic collaboration announced August 25, the Rainbow Warriors will also be wearing jerseys featuring Hawaiian Airlines’ iconic Pualani patch when they take the field versus Stanford.
“This is the first partnership between a college athletics department and an airlines in the country. There was no better match. There was no better partner for us to move forward with the very first jersey patch partnership here at the University of Hawaiʻi,” UH Mānoa Athletics Director Matt Elliott said at the August 25 press conference. “We started looking into what is possible for our student athletes to travel in an expanded footprint in a new Mountain West, and once again, Hawaiian Airlines was there for us to say, ‘We’re going to help you provide charter airlines for every single flight for your football team.’”
“It’s a privilege to represent Hawaiʻi. That’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and I know our friends at UH do the same,” Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow said. “It’s also very personal. There are so many Hawaiian Airlines employees, family members that are UH alumni, that are students, that are fans.”
UH Football Head Coach Timmy Chang added, “My mom worked for Hawaiian for 30+ years and so I am very proud to be associated with this partnership. Hawaiian Airlines gave me my first flight to the mainland, my first flight to the neighbor islands, and so this partnership means everything—very grateful and truly honored.”
Hawaiian Airlines will bring the Rainbow Warriors to conference and nonconference games at Stanford, Wyoming, Arizona State, Northern Illinois, UTEP and Nevada as UH Athletics’ begin the first season as a full member of the Mountain West Conference. UH fans across Hawaiʻi and the U.S. continent can travel to all of these schools to cheer on the Warriors thanks to the expanded, combined Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines network.
Operated by Hawaiian Airlines’ Airbus A321neo aircraft, the football charter service is tailored to the team’s schedule and travel requirements, helping ensure players and staff arrive rested and ready to compete.
Rainbow Warriors charter flight schedule
- Stanford, August 29: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to San Jose Mineta International Airport
- Wyoming, September 26: HNL to Denver International Airport
- Arizona State, October 10: HNL to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Northern Illinois, October 24: HNL to Chicago Rockford International Airport
- UTEP, November 7: HNL to El Paso International Airport
- Nevada, November 21: HNL to Reno-Tahoe International Airport
