23 February 2018

Hawaiian To Order 787-9s?

According to airline industry consultant Scott Hamilton and his Leeham News & Comment website, they report that Hawaiian Airlines will switch their order for six Airbus A330-800s to six Boeing 787-9s, and the formal announcement from Hawaiian is pending.

Originally, Hawaiian Airlines was one a handful of airlines to order the A350-800 a few years ago. When Airbus cancelled the A350-800, Hawaiian was offered the A330neo (A330-800) as a substitute. The airline was offered the longer A350-900, but declined, opting for the A330-800, as the former would be too much airplane for the airline's flight operations. The same applied to the A330-300. When Hawaiian received its first A330-243s, we asked Mark Dunkerley if the A330-300 was a viable option, and his answer was "no, it's too much airplane for what we do."

Noting the longer range of the 787-9, was one of the factors in Hawaiian Airlines making the switch, as the airline is looking into routes further into Asia, beyond the range of their current A330-243s.

However, a FlightGlobal report states that Hawaiian Airlines rebutted the Leeham article, saying they will stay with the A330-800.

Again, Hawaiian Airlines is yet to formally announce whether it will stay with the A330-800 or switch their order to the 787-9.

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