Changes underway at Hawaiian, of interest to our fellow Hawaii airline buffs. First, the carrier will cannibalize one of its Boeing 717 planes, ingeniously making use of the aging interisland fleet as a source for spare parts. Word too that Hawaiian may be delaying the delivery of its coveted new flagship fleet. That according to CEO Peter Ingram.
717 Interisland plane parted-out: creative in-house parts depot
Hawaiian announce that it will “part-out” one of its older Boeing 717 interisland aircraft. That will help “bring meaningful maintenance cost savings over the next several years and cash savings in the immediate term.” The fleet is approaching 20 years in age, with high use cycles, and will be subject to replacement consideration within a few years. See our recent Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 Fleet Replacement Update.
Changing Hawaiian Airlines long-range fleet planning
About five years ago, Hawaiian announced plans to order a fleet of six Airbus A350-800 aircraft. Subsequently, Airbus discontinued that variant of the A350, and Hawaiian’s order was moved to the A330-800. That plane had few other orders and Hawaiian didn’t want to potentially be one of its only customers.
Enters the Dreamliner
The company then agreed to purchase up to 20 of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which were to become the Hawaiian Airlines flagship. The delivery of the aircraft was set to begin in early 2021. The 787-9 is capable of flying up to 7,635 nautical miles, with London sitting just 6,289 nautical miles from us here in Hawaii. We love Dreamliner for its spacious feel, larger electronic control windows, lower altitude pressurization, and overall comfort. Our absolute favorite plane, by the way, is the likely soon to be obsolete Airbus A380.
At the time of the Dreamliner deal, CEO Peter Ingram said, “We were in the enviable position of choosing between two outstanding models for our flagship aircraft of the future and I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of adding the Dreamliner to Hawaiian’s fleet.”
A321neo and A330 fleets remain
The Dreamliner order was unrelated to the airline’s new narrow-body Airbus A321neo Hawaiian Airlines fleet, nor did it impact their A330-200 wide-body aircraft. Those planes will continue to serve as Hawaiian’s primary, long-range aircraft for use to all major destinations including Asia, Australia, and the highest density mainland cities.
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Thank you for the information.
We also love the A380. Upper deck towards the back was awesome. Plenty of room and more isolated.
Is Hawaiian still going to be getting the 787 Dreamliners? If they do, I hope they don’t do the 3-3-3 main cabin seating arrangement. We like the 2-3-2 seating (two seats on the window sides) and therefore prefer the A330’s.
Thank you.
Hi David.
We have a great travel story to share re A380. Just haven’t put that one together yet. We got to take two rides in November, right before the world changed. On British and Singapore. We will assume that Hawaiian will still get the Dreamliners, although of course anything is possible. Concur on seating.
Aloha.
I’ll be sad to see the MD-95 (717) slowly vanish. The Mad Dogs were truly wonderful planes to fly on.
I can’t blame Hawaiian for deferring or cancelling the B787s for the foreseeable future. Boeing and the engine makers are reportedly working on a PIP anyway, given that the B787 has already been in service for 10 years! Hard to believe its already been that long. Deferring the order might save Hawaiian some cash in the short term, and result in savings over the longer term if they do keep the plane and its PIPped.
The real loser here is Airbus, who had two chances to get Hawaiian’s business but just couldn’t make it happen.
I’m thinking Hawaiian wii be particularly well positioned as Hawaii opens up. Hawaii has had one of the lowest rates of infection and flying
on them means in all likelihood the crews are from Hawaii. Any other airline the crews are from states that probably have a much higher
rate of infection.
Has to give new meaning to the their sales pitch “ you are in Hawaii as soon as you board your flight flight”!
Thanks.
Hi John.
We are most grateful for all of your comments.
Aloha, R/J.