About

Aloha all!

This HNL RareBirds™ website was borne out of the Airliners.net Civil Aviation Forum's "HNL RareBirds" thread series, that documented rare airliners and airlines as they stopped through HNL. The thread series that encompassed over a dozen volumes that began in 2002, and ran until 2006. Rather than beginning new volumes, creating this website would allow me to put out airliner and airline news concerning HNL (and Hawai‘i), and maintain editorial content and control. This website was also started due to some of the photography screeners on Airliners.net, and their questionable screening policy. I had dozens of photos rejected, even though they met the screening criteria of Airliners.net standards. So I thought, this is the best way to post my photos, and other's photos, and apply those photos to the accompanying news posts.

At present, HNL RareBirds™ has over twenty contributors, with some on the Neighbor Islands, mainland, and other countries. Our goal is to bring you objective, and accurate coverage of commercial (along with military, and general) aviation events, airline and airliner news affecting Hawai‘i, and historical pieces. We adhere to strict journalistic standards, and do not post speculation, conjecture, hearsay, rumors, nor gossip.

If you have information of a rarebird headed our way, or have other inquiries, they can be sent to: HNLRareBirds@gmail.com.

If you would like to take a look at the past volumes of the HNL RareBirds thread series, here is a link to the archived volumes on Airliners.net.

I would also express a big thank you for reaching over 3,000,000 page views since the inception of this website.

Aloha, Blue Wave 707


Open Call
Attention planespotters and aviation photographers residing in Hawai‘i or visiting the islands, HNL RareBirds™ is always looking for more contributors! We are looking for contributors at all Hawai‘i airports, especially on the Neighbor Islands. If you are interested in contributing photos to HNL RareBirds™, please email us links to photos you have posted on social media, Airliners.net, JetPhotos.net, flickr.com, or other photo sharing websites for our consideration for qualification. Please do not send us photos directly, as those emails will be deleted. You may also contact us via direct messaging through our social media channels.

The minimum camera requirement is a 5MP point & shoot, 10MP smart phone (non-digital zoom image), DSLR, or mirrorless camera. If you have HDOT AOA or SIDA ramp access, that is a huge plus to get airside photos. You will be acknowledged for your contribution.


Revised 01 March 2024