Hawaiian Adds Six New A330s to its Fleet Plan

Hawaiian Airlines today will add six new Airbus A330-200 aircraft to its fleet commitment, increasing its Airbus fleet plan from 10 to 16 aircraft to be delivered between 2012 and 2015.

Hawaiian already took delivery of its third new A330 aircraft earlier this month, and will accept two more in the coming year.  The wide-body aircraft provides Hawaiian with more flexibility as it pursues domestic and international expansion opportunities and replaces its existing long-haul fleet in the coming years.

Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley takes delivery of this Airbus A330-200 jet at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. This is the first of up to 27 new long-range Airbus aircraft that Hawaiian will integrate into its fleet over the coming decade. (PRNewsFoto/Hawaiian Airlines)

All of Hawaiian’s new A330 aircraft will carry 294 passengers—that’s 30 more people per aircraft than its fleet of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The A330 also has a longer operating range that enables nonstop service between Hawaii and points throughout all of North America, eastern Asia and Australasia.

Hawaiian Airlines inaugurated nonstop service between Honolulu and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on November 17, and will start nonstop flights between Honolulu and Seoul, South Korea’s Incheon International Airport on January 12, 2011. 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.

Beginning in 2017, Hawaiian will take 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 and have a range of 8,300 nautical miles that would allow Hawaiian to fly nonstop between Hawaii and any viable tourism market around the world.

(Supporting information courtesy Hawaiian Airlines)