I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2. Interisland, yes. I have flown on many Embraer aircraft on the mainland and I agree with the other posters about the overhead bins being very small. When my family and I travel Interisland, we are usually carrying food and gifts to family on other islands in addition to our carry on bags. I have seen the overhead bins on the current Boeing 717 aircraft full many times, with the flight attendants sending carry on bags to the belly of the plane. If it were my choice, I would choose the Airbus A220 or A321neo for Interisland routes, not the Embraer. And for me, it’s wide body aircraft only for the mainland routes.
TiM here again. In the first sentence of my post above I said “ I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2.”. My apologies, as I failed to quantify that statement. What I intended to say is “ I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2, and travel 2500+ miles to the mainland.”. Also, I don’t like the idea of pushing small aircraft to almost the limit of their range while over water just to make it more economical.
Another option will also be the airbus 319. There are a lot of used a319s that can be bought for cheap. It’s the same type rating as the a321 that Hawaiian flies already. Would save on training costs
I seem to recall Mokulele partnered with Dorvin Leis to bring the Embraer into inter-island use. While the Embraer was a beautiful plane, it could not accommodate a full load of passengers along with their luggage. Most time Mokulele would ask other carriers to help them by carrying a portion of the luggage for them. I hope any prospective operator of either plane make sure it can accommodate a full load of luggage and the bread and butter cargo that the B-717 carrys every day.
You might be suprised if they purchase the Max 7. Range of 4,000 miles, American company, and seating of up to 150. Very suitable for smaller markets on the mainland AND interislan. All of the embraer’s i have flown on have miniscule overhead bins, a big problem for checked baggage averse travelers.
Bad news unfortunately. The B717 was a development from the DC9 and was always the smallest regular equipment from Boeing whilst Airbus had the 319. The A220 and the Embraer family are both designed as regional jets with reduced cabin space for headroom and carry on storage. No way I would want to fly to the mainland on a regional jet. I will continue to look for dreamliner or B777 flights.
Either the A220 or the E175 or E195 would be a great option to replace the 717. Both are solid, reliable airframes. Alaska currently uses the E175 for shorter routes and it’s a great and comfortable aircraft to fly on. Hawaiian has some great aircraft to choose from and I will look forward to seeing them in their fleet.
Slightly off topic because this wasn’t due to aircraft change BUT… Check Your Reservation well in advance of your trip. I went to print out our 2 itineraries – one-way outbound and one-way return – and discovered that the “system” did not recognize either of my confirmation numbers And when I tried looking them up using the drop-down box under my name, the same one-way itinerary kept coming up for each of the two reservations! Turns out Hawaiian changed my confirmation numbers to something completely different, never notified me and also changed our seats (but just on the Kauai-Honolulu leg so no big deal). You Will Be Upset if you try to check your reservations just as you’re leaving the house to travel so do check in advance.
A220-300 looks great, have flown them before and I love them.
I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2. Interisland, yes. I have flown on many Embraer aircraft on the mainland and I agree with the other posters about the overhead bins being very small. When my family and I travel Interisland, we are usually carrying food and gifts to family on other islands in addition to our carry on bags. I have seen the overhead bins on the current Boeing 717 aircraft full many times, with the flight attendants sending carry on bags to the belly of the plane. If it were my choice, I would choose the Airbus A220 or A321neo for Interisland routes, not the Embraer. And for me, it’s wide body aircraft only for the mainland routes.
TiM here again. In the first sentence of my post above I said “ I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2.”. My apologies, as I failed to quantify that statement. What I intended to say is “ I live on the Big Island and have never and will never get on a narrow body small jet like the Airbus A220, A321neo, or Embraer E2, and travel 2500+ miles to the mainland.”. Also, I don’t like the idea of pushing small aircraft to almost the limit of their range while over water just to make it more economical.
Another option will also be the airbus 319. There are a lot of used a319s that can be bought for cheap. It’s the same type rating as the a321 that Hawaiian flies already. Would save on training costs
I seem to recall Mokulele partnered with Dorvin Leis to bring the Embraer into inter-island use. While the Embraer was a beautiful plane, it could not accommodate a full load of passengers along with their luggage. Most time Mokulele would ask other carriers to help them by carrying a portion of the luggage for them. I hope any prospective operator of either plane make sure it can accommodate a full load of luggage and the bread and butter cargo that the B-717 carrys every day.
You might be suprised if they purchase the Max 7. Range of 4,000 miles, American company, and seating of up to 150. Very suitable for smaller markets on the mainland AND interislan. All of the embraer’s i have flown on have miniscule overhead bins, a big problem for checked baggage averse travelers.
No smart airline would fly the death trap that is the MAX
Bad news unfortunately. The B717 was a development from the DC9 and was always the smallest regular equipment from Boeing whilst Airbus had the 319. The A220 and the Embraer family are both designed as regional jets with reduced cabin space for headroom and carry on storage. No way I would want to fly to the mainland on a regional jet. I will continue to look for dreamliner or B777 flights.
I rather be on an Airbus a220-300 aircraft than Embraer aircraft Airbus is more fuel efficient
Either the A220 or the E175 or E195 would be a great option to replace the 717. Both are solid, reliable airframes. Alaska currently uses the E175 for shorter routes and it’s a great and comfortable aircraft to fly on. Hawaiian has some great aircraft to choose from and I will look forward to seeing them in their fleet.
Slightly off topic because this wasn’t due to aircraft change BUT… Check Your Reservation well in advance of your trip. I went to print out our 2 itineraries – one-way outbound and one-way return – and discovered that the “system” did not recognize either of my confirmation numbers And when I tried looking them up using the drop-down box under my name, the same one-way itinerary kept coming up for each of the two reservations! Turns out Hawaiian changed my confirmation numbers to something completely different, never notified me and also changed our seats (but just on the Kauai-Honolulu leg so no big deal). You Will Be Upset if you try to check your reservations just as you’re leaving the house to travel so do check in advance.
Oh Yes!