Travelers to Maui will no longer have to wonder why Kahului Airport’s three-letter airport code is OGG. They need only spend a few minutes at a new wall paying tribute to Capt. Jimmy Hogg, the Hawaiian Airlines pilot and aviation pioneer for whom the airport is named.
The 8-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide wall at Gate 19 was presented Sept. 15 by Hawaiian Airlines, the state Department of Transportation and the Transportation Security Administration, which coordinated efforts to honor the Kauai native.
“We were approached with the idea of sharing the story of Capt. Hogg’s life and career by TSA employees in Kahului, who are asked questions every day about the origin of OGG,” said Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii’s oldest and largest commercial airline. “Kahului Airport officials offered to provide us with the space and we were delighted to design this fitting tribute to Jimmy, whose epic career ran from the earliest days of commercial aviation in Hawaii to the dawn of the jet age.”
Born and raised in Lihue, Kauai, on a sugar plantation, Hogg grew up watching airplanes land at Nawiliwili and decided at the age of 12 that he was destined to become a pilot. He started his aviation career on Jan. 1, 1930, at Inter-island Airways as a mechanic’s helper.
He became a co-pilot in 1936, and captain the following year. He went on to achieve a series of “firsts” with the airline, which was renamed Hawaiian Airlines in October 1941. Hogg made the first commercial flight after the attack on Pearl Harbor, coming under ground fire from those mistaking his plane for an enemy aircraft. On Jan. 14, 1958, he flew Hawaiian Airlines’ first trans-Pacific flight, delivering a DC-6 from the West Coast to Honolulu.
When the Civil Aeronautics Authority began to standardize airport navigational beacons after World War II, it turned to Hogg for assistance. In 1957, when it was decided that Kahului Airport needed a three-letter code, the CAA took the opportunity to honor one of the pioneers of Hawaii aviation. Hogg retired from Hawaiian Airlines in 1968 and died at 84 in 1992. A video recap of his life is available at youtu.be/I-gN4GBjOFs.
The dedication of the Capt. Jimmy Hogg Memorial Wall at Kahului Airport kicks off a series of celebrations leading up to Hawaiian Airlines’ 85th anniversary on Nov. 11.
On Oct. 4, the airlines will host an all-day community event at Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii in Hilo.
Trivia contests via Hawaiian Airlines social media channels will offer prizes throughout the months of October and November.
Throughout November, Hawaiian Airlines’ Team Kokua of employees will participate in community service projects on Kauai and Hawaii Island.