Shandong's B-1983

Shandong Airlines is taking delivery of B-1983 (c/n 41616, l/n 4980) this morning. The 737-85N, the fourth to wear the DEEJ special livery, is making its delivery flight from BFI as CDG1983, and will overnight at HNL. This is the second of the three 737-800 deliveries stopping through HNL today.

China Southern's B-1980

China Southern Airlines is taking delivery of B-1980 (c/n 41268, l/n 4993) this morning. The 737-86N, leased from GECAS, is making its delivery flight from BFI as CSN1980, and will overnight at HNL. This is the first of three China-bound 737-800 deliveries today.

Airbus Unveils the A330neo

With the production cancellation of the A350-800XWB, except for those already on order, Airbus Industrie announced this morning at the Farnborough Airshow, that they will be producing the A330-800 and A330-900 featuring the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine. Besides the new powerplants, the new A330 will also have A350-like winglets, longer wingspan, LED cabin lighting, and lower fuel burn. The A330-800 will be similar to the current A330-200, and the A330-900 will be similar to the A330-300.

Further details in this Airbus press release.

Okay Airways Orders More 737s

Okay Airways announced today that they have placed an order with Boeing for six 737-MAX8s, and four 737-800s. The airline is also converting an existing order for five 737-800s to 737-900ERs, that was part of 2010 order for ten -800s.

Further details in this Boeing Media Room press release.

Mark Dunkerley Wins Award!

Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Mark Dunkerley has been awarded the 2014 Airline Strategy Award for Regional Leadership by Airline Business magazine (an industry trade publication), and a select panel of industry experts. The award recognizes Mr. Dunkerley's leadership in bringing Hawaiian Airlines out of bankruptcy into a global player.

Further details in this Hawaiian Airlines press release.

The Crank Flyer's Brett Snyder's recent interview with Mark Dunkerley.

Donghai's B-1705

Donghai Airlines [DZ] (China) is taking delivery of B-1705 (c/n 39387, l/n 4966) today. The 737-86J is making its delivery flight from BFI as DZ821, and will overnight at HNL.

39387 was originally ordered by Air Berlin, but not taken up. It received a temporary registration of N844BA while it waited for a new owner or lessee.

N941WP's New Livery

Island Air's N941WP "Manawanui" (msn 349) received the 2014 Ellison-era livery last month at Myrtle Beach, SC [MYR]. The ferry flight back to HNL was routed from MYR through SLN [Salina Regional Airport, Salina, KS] and MMV [McMinneville Municipal Airport, McMinneville, OR], as SXA1142.

We finally got an opportunity to take a photo of N941WP, since it was the only ATR72 in the fleet to wear the final full Gavarnie-era livery, seen below in a photo taken this past February.

Nok Air's HS-DBQ

Nok Air is taking delivery of HS-DBQ "Nok Bussarakam (Yellow Sapphire)" (c/n 37794, l/n 4991) today. The 737-86J, leased from Avolon, is making its delivery flight from BFI to DMK, as HSDBQ, and will overnight at HNL. Though each aircraft in their fleet has a unique livery, HS-DBQ has been painted in an extra special livery to commemorate the airline's tenth anniversary.

This 737-86J was originally destined to be leased to Air Berlin, but was not taken up, and transferred to Nok Air.

UAL201 Diverted To MDY

Last evening, United's UAL201 (HNL-GUM) diverted to MDY due to a fire in the cockpit that disabled some flight instruments. N210UA (c/n 30216, l/n 264), a 777-222, was abeam MDY when the fire was detected, and the crew decided to land there, instead of trying to return to HNL. United sent N779UA (c/n 26941, l/n 35) to MDY from HNL as UAL2068 a few hours later, to pick up the passengers at returned to HNL as UAL2104.

Because MDY is on a National Wildlife Refuge for sea birds, and part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, flights in and out of MDY must be done in the night hours to prevent bird strikes.

We came across this through Airliners.net's Civil Aviation Forum.

Watch FlightRadar24's radar track of UAL201.

KITV has a link to photos taken by passengers while at MDY in this article.

The most recent emergency landing at MDY was in June 2011, when a Delta Air Lines 747-400, N669US, en route to KIX from HNL as DAL277, suffered a crack in the windshield.

China Eastern's B-5816

China Eastern Airlines is taking delivery of B-5816 (c/n 39310, l/n 4986) this morning. The peacock-clad 737-79P is making its delivery flight from BFI as CES299, and will overnight at HNL.

We were unable to get a photo of B-5816 at HNL, but Rick Schlamp got a photo of it at BFI.

United's Eco-Skies 737-924ER

Spotted today was one of United's Eco-Skies 737s. This 737-924ER wears special markings that shows United's commitment to operating in a more environmentally friendly manner. N75432 (c/n 32835, l/n 2817) was delivered to Continental Airlines in February 2009, and went to United Airlines after the merger in October 2010. It recently had its "Eco-Skies" livery applied in January of this year.

Amelia Earhart's N58NG

Amelia Rose Earhart is replicating the around-the-world flight that her namesake embarked upon. In a Pilatus PC-12, N58NG, she is making the 19-segment flight that will begin and end at Denver's Rocky Mountain Metro Airport [BJC/KBJC]. Ms. Earhart arrived today from CXI, and will leave for OAK early Friday morning.

In the above photo, Star*Advertiser photographer Craig T Kojima photographs Amelia Rose Earhart at the nose of her PC-12.

More information in this KITV4 article.

Air China's B-1959

Air China is taking delivery of B-1959 (c/n 41321, l/n 4982) today. The 737-89L is making its delivery flight from BFI as CCA78, and will overnight at HNL.

Island Air And American Airlines Interline Agreement

Island Air and American Airlines have signed an interline agreement for ticket sales and continuous check-in (passengers and baggage) for both airlines. The agreement is already in effect. This will expand Island Air's feeds at HNL, OGG, and LIH.

This will expand Island Air's working agreements, as they also code-share with United Airlines.

Further details in this World Airline News article.

Xiamen's B-1970

Xiamen Air is taking delivery of B-1970 (c/n 39903, l/n 4981) this morning. The 737-85C is making its delivery flight from BFI as CXA1970, and will overnight at HNL.

Sorry, we were unable to get a photo of B-1970 at HNL, but Steven Bailey got it at BFI.

Hawaiian Adds LAX Seasonal Service

Hawaiian Airlines will be adding winter seasonal 767-300 LAX service to HNL and OGG. The airline is adding one extra flight (four times weekly) to both Hawai‘i airports, though during Thanksgiving week, the LAX-OGG extra flight will be daily.

Further information in this Hawaiian Airlines press release.

Six 737 Airframes In Derailment

A train carrying six 737NG fuselages, and components for 747s, 777s, and 787s, from Wichita, KS to Renton, WA, derailed at Rivulet, MT today. Of the six 737 airframes, four were dislodged from their train beds, and three fell along the banks of the Clark Fork River. It is not known at this time which line numbers, nor airlines, were assigned to these airframes.

The photos do show those at the river bank are 737-800s and a 737-900. Upon closer at one of the photos, it appears that the line number on the fuselage is 50__.

Here are the affected airframes:
5030 | N8643A | 42524 | Southwest Airlines | -8H4
5031 | HS-DBR | 43420 | Nok Air | -86N
5032 | N8644C | 35973 | Southwest Airlines | -8H4
5033 | N955NN | 31199 | American Airlines | -823
5034 | B-1971 | 39904 | Xiamen Air | -85C
5035 | B-1972 | 37620 | Shenzhen Airlines | -87L

Further details in this Aviation Week article.

Photos of the derailment from Seattle's KING5.

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day, as we celebrate the USA's 238th birthday!

Mokulele Commences JRF Flights

Mokulele Airlines began their JRF-OGG service today. N856MA made the inaugural flight this morning. A Hawaiian blessing was held prior to boarding.

Further details in this KHON2 News article.

Editorial Note

We contacted Mokulele Airlines, and requested if we could attend today's event. They responded that they would put us on the media list. When we sought an update from Mokulele regarding the time of the event, the airline did not respond. Therefore, we did not attend the event.

US Airways' N707UW

Our July edition of "HNL RareBirds Classic" features N707UW (msn 949), a former US Airways A319-112, that ferrying through HNL in November 2005, on its way to a new lessee.

949 was originally purchased by GECAS in January 1999, then leased to US Airways as N707UW. In March 2006, it was leased to United Eagle Airlines [EU/UEA] (China) as B-6155. The airline changed its name to Chengdu Airlines in 2010, and B-6155 remained under the new name. In June 2012, it was leased to Hamburg Airways as D-AHHE. In April 2013, TAME [EQ/TAE] (Ecuador) acquired this A319, and registered it as HC-COF.