Air Niugini Orders Two More A220s

Airbus announced that Air Niugini has placed an order for two additional A220-100s to its original order for six A220-100s. The airline also has lease agreements for three A220-300s. Airbus also announced that Air Niugini's first A220 has entered its final assembly phase at Montréal-Mirabel.

Further information in this Airbus press release.

Air Niugini Orders Six A220s

Air Niugini confirmed a firm order for six Airbus A220-100s today, as part of its fleet renewal program. The airline will also lease two more A220-100s and three A220-300s. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2025.

Further details in this Airbus press release.

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.

Air Vanuatu Orders 4 A220s

For its expansion plans, Air Vanuatu has placed an order for four Airbus A220 airlines (two -100s and two -300s), and will be the A220 launch customer in the Pacific region. The airline currently has a fleet of one 737-800 (leased), and two ATR72s (one stored). No delivery date has been set for their first A220.

Further information in this Airbus press release.

Airbus Re-designates The C-Series

Airbus has re-designated the Bombardier C-Series (CS100 and CS300) as the A220, as part of their takeover of the latter manufacturer's operation and program of the smaller narrow-body airliner. From today, the CS100 will now be known as the A220-100, and the larger CS300 will be known as the A220-300. The above photo was taken last year, when C-FFDO made a stopover at HNL on a demonstration flight.