An order change good for both Boeing and Hawaiian Airlines.
Staging of new Hawaiian Airlines Dreamliner planes from 2023-2027.
In addition, Hawaiian announced that deliveries of the Boeing 787-9 will commence in the fourth quarter of this year and will be staged from then to 2027. Only one plane will be delivered in 2023. Three additional planes will be delivered in 2024. This represents a delay of at least two years from the original plans for delivery when the purchase order was first announced.
We said previously that we fully expected further delays in Hawaiian’s Dreamliner delivery schedule. In part that was due to the purchase that UAL recently announced here: Will Hawaiian Dreamliners Get Trounced By Huge UAL Order?
Hawaiian Airlines Dreamliner will be huge uplift for the luxury-focused carrier.
The new planes will be in addition to Hawaiian’s ten-year-old fleet of Airbus A330-200 planes, of which they have 24. The Dreamliners will offer more luxury, greater overall comfort, better fuel economy, and both new and upguaged routes.
Premium Dreamliner routes may include Honolulu to New York (and perhaps Honolulu to LA and to San Francisco), as well as Sydney, Tokyo, and we predict London. Hawaiian has confirmed these routes, although confirmation of premium California and London routes hasn’t been made. These planes can travel on routes up to 14 or more hours and 7,635 miles.
A very long wait for Hawaiian Dreamliners.
When Hawaiian announced the new planes in 2018, it expected the first deliveries early in the decade. For a multitude of reasons, they have been delayed multiple times. Issues have included FAA approval problems, Covid, ongoing supply chain issues, and serious production issues that resulted in delivery delays.
Cabana suites are featured on the new Hawaiian Airlines’ Dreamliner premium configuration.
Hawaiian remains on target to serve the premium Hawaii leisure travel market. The new Dreamliner business class seats are another uplift component compared with the current A330 widebody fleet. Hawaii will be the first customer for the new suites sourced from Adient Aerospace. The center two seats are combinable, which is called the Cabana Suite.
No premium economy cabin and no economy upgrades announced.
Economy seating which is by Ascent is still awaiting more information. Also, surprisingly in this day and age, no premium economy cabin is said to be planned. At this rate, Hawaiian may have the only widebody fleet to Hawaii that does not offer a true premium economy product.
Hawaiian Airlines Dreamliner interior.
New Hawaiian Airlines 787 Interior
Original announcement: Up to 20 New Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner
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I fly the A330/350 and the 787-900 every other month. From a passenger standpoint, the Airbus is more quiet, has a better cabin layout, and is overall a more smooth flying experience. Sad to say, because of all the initial excitement around the Dreamliner, it hasn’t delivered for me on the metrics that count.
“the ever-so-slow return of international travel to Hawaii”
I’m a bit confused. I follow your blog and Hawaii travel. And, we are returning to Kauai for 2 weeks in Feb/Mar. Flying Hawaiian and supposedly on a Dreamliner … I hope it is … Looking forward to being on a Dreamliner flight.
I thought the challenge was that Hawaii was receiving a big return to travel after the pandemic. That Hawaii wasn’t able to handle the heavy return of tourists.
I’m not trying to poke the bear here … I’m just genuinely confused.
No premium economy makes no sense for a potentially 15 hour flight. Hopefully, they will rethink that!