Hawaiian Airlines Deciding On B712 Replacement

Flight Global reports that Hawaiian Airlines will have a decision regarding the replacement of their 717-200 fleet. The decision should come between the 4th Quarter of this year, and the 1st Quarter of the next. However, the actual replacement won't happen until the latter part of the decade. What could be replacement airliners? According to Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram, he states in the article that the A319neo, both A220 variants, and the ERJ195-E2 are on the table. Interestingly, there was no mention of the 737MAX series.

COMPARISON

B717-200: RR BR715 | 128 seats | 1,430nm range | 935 cu ft cargo

to

A319-171N: PW1100G | 140-160 seats | 3,750nm range | 950 cu ft cargo

A220-100  : PW1500G | 100-120 seats | 3,450nm range | 840 cu ft cargo

A220-300  : PW1500G | 120-150 seats | 3,600nm range | 1,120 cu ft cargo

ERJ-195-E2: PW1900G | 120-132 seats | 2,665nm range | --

ANALYSIS

The two big questions are, will any of these candidates be able to handle the rigorous schedule that the 717-200s currently maintain, and will Hawaiian have to make adjustments to work with the GTF cool down times? And with the multitude of inter-island flights, will they be able to accommodate available belly space that Hawaiian uses for a lot of their inter-island cargo operations? 

Engines: All three candidates use the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF), though the A319N has the same variant, PW1100G, that are on the current A321Ns The A319N does have the option for the CFM LEAP-1X series engines, but it's highly unlikely Hawaiian would choose this option for this type, as it would incur additional maintenance training.

Seats: All three candidates will need to have two-class seating. The A319N will offer more seats, while the A220-300 and E195-E2 will barely break even, and the A220-100 will offer less seats.

Range: The A319N offers a 2,300nm gain, the A220-100 has 2,000nm gain, the A220-300 has a 2,100nm gain, and the E195-E2 has a 1,200nm gain.

Cargo Volume: The A319N has slightly more volume, but the A220-300 has over 150 cu ft more belly space, while the A220-100 has considerably less. No data was available for the E195-E2.

Each will provide at least another 1,000 miles in additional range, that could make it an ideal aircraft for Hawaiian to expand into secondary markets on the west coast, or more service to the west coast from the Neighbor Island airports. The flight deck of an A319neo is similar to the A321neo that Hawaiian already has, and can reduce pilot training time. Based on the data, The A220-300 and the A319N appear to be the front-runners.  It will be interesting to see which aircraft Hawaiian will select to replace the 717 when they make their selection.