Hawaiian Airlines recently announced that it is accelerating the scheduled delivery of a new Airbus A330-200 aircraft by nearly two years to the fourth quarter of 2011 from its original delivery date in the second quarter of 2013.
Hawaiian’s new A330s will carry 294 passengers – 30 more passengers per aircraft than its fleet of wide-body, twin-aisle Boeing 767-300ER aircraft – in a two-class configuration (18 seats in First Class, 276 seats in Coach Class) and have a longer operating range that would allow Hawaiian to fly nonstop between Hawaii and points throughout all of North America and eastern Asia.
Hawaiian also has commitments to acquire 10 new A330s (including two aircraft already in service) over the next four years and purchase rights for five additional aircraft. Hawaiian’s first two A330s joined the fleet this past June and are being used on the Honolulu-Los Angeles route.
Hawaiian is expanding its service into Asia in the coming months, introducing new nonstop flights between Honolulu and both Tokyo and Seoul. The company will initially operate both new international routes using its B767 aircraft seating up to 264 passengers before transitioning to its new A330 aircraft.
In 2017, Hawaiian will expand its fleet further by taking delivery of the first of six new A350XWB-800 (Extra Wide Body) aircraft from Airbus, with rights to purchase an additional six aircraft. The next-generation fuel-efficient A350s will seat more than 300 passengers in a two-class configuration and have a range of 8,300 nautical miles that would allow Hawaiian to fly nonstop between Hawaii and virtually any viable tourism market around the world.
For more information, visit www.hawaiianairlines.com.
