Hawaiian Airlines welcomed its newest Airbus A330-200 into service this week following a traditional Hawaiian blessing at its Honolulu base on June 26.
The new A330 is the fourth to join Hawaiian’s fleet this year and the ninth overall since June 2010, when the company began its long-haul fleet renewal and expansion program. The aircraft was flown nonstop from the Airbus Factory in Toulouse, France to Los Angeles last week where it underwent final preparations for entry into service.
Hawaiian’s newest A330 is named Keali‘iokonaikalewa, which is the Hawaiian name for the star Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky. (Each of Hawaiian’s new A330s is named for a constellation or star used by Polynesians for celestial navigation in ancient times when they voyaged in sailing canoes across the Pacific to Hawaii.)
Hawaiian will take delivery of 13 additional new A330s between 2013 and 2015, bringing the total number of A330s in its fleet to 22.