Hawaiian Airlines’ Newest A330, Nahiku, Enters Service
By Sonia Isotov
Hawaiian Airlines today welcomed its eighth new Airbus A330-200 to its fleet, the third of four that will be delivered this year en route to an eventual fleet size of 22.
The new A330 was flown from Toulouse to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, where it was used for training in advance of Hawaiian’s service launch there on June 4th.
It then operated Flight 3 from Los Angeles to Honolulu, arriving in Hawai’i early this afternoon. The aircraft will be used on long haul routes throughout the Pacific, as well as to the East Coast.
Hawaiian has named its latest A330 “Nahiku,” the Hawaiian name to describe the Big Dipper. Each new Hawaiian A330 is named for a constellation or star used by the ancient Polynesians for celestial navigation when making their voyages across the Pacific to Hawaii.
Hawaiian plans to take delivery of one more new A330 this year in June, which will bring the company total to nine. Hawaiian will also take delivery of 13 new A330s between 2013 and 2015.
The new A330s are more fuel-efficient and have a longer operating range than the B767s, giving Hawaiian the option to open new nonstop routes between Hawaii and points throughout North America and eastern Asia.