Hawaiian Airlines expects to receive its first Boeing 787 in November.
ISTANBUL—Hawaiian Airlines is preparing for the commercial debut of its first Boeing 787 in early 2024 and is considering its options for the replacement of its 717 fleet.
The carrier is confident the first 787 will arrive in November as scheduled under the revised delivery timetable, Hawaiian CEO Peter Ingram told Aviation Daily at the IATA annual general meeting June 4. The first scheduled commercial flight will likely occur in the January-February 2024 timeframe.
Ingram said the airline will soon announce the first route for the 787. The initial aircraft will likely be used on one of the airline’s existing routes between Hawaii and the U.S. west coast, he said. Eventually the 787s will be used on the airline’s longer route to New York and on international services to Japan and Australia. However, there will always be a mix of U.S. west coast flying for the 787s for maintenance reasons.
Ingram said the fact that the 787s are larger than its current Airbus A330 widebodies, with a greater premium mix, will make the 787s a good fit for the New York market in particular.
Hawaiian has 12 787s on order, with four scheduled for delivery by the end of 2024 and a couple per year after that.
The 787s are intended for both fleet replacement and growth, Ingram said. Some of Hawaiian’s A330s have leases expiring in 2024, although the carrier is still evaluating how many of those leases will be extended and how many will be returned.
Hawaiian is working on replacement plans for its 717 fleet, although Ingram stressed that no firm decisions have been made yet. The three potential alternatives are Airbus A220s, A319s/A320s and Embraer E195s, Ingram said.
The airline hopes to come to a decision on a replacement order sometime this year or early in 2024, Ingram said. Delivery timetables would depend on which alternative is selected, but Hawaiian will probably still be operating the 717s on its inter-island routes at least through 2025-26, he said.
Hawaiian still has two A321neos grounded due to the backlog in servicing on Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines that is affecting many carriers. The carrier expects to have about the same number grounded over the next several months, Ingram said. It has previously had up to five grounded.
Ingram noted that the issue for Hawaiian’s Pratt engines has not been reliability, but rather the increased turnaround time for scheduled engine maintenance.
