Hawaiian Airlines Expands New Fleet with Another New Airbus A330 for Delivery in 2011
With an eye on accelerating its plan to expand service in Asia and other markets, Hawaiian Airlines today announced the purchase of an additional Airbus A330-200 scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2011.
With this announcement, Hawaiian is now acquiring 10 new A330s with purchase rights available for five additional aircraft. The first three A330s to join Hawaiian's fleet are scheduled to arrive in April, May and November of this year.
Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO, said, "Good financial performance has positioned us well to seize the opportunities to grow our business. The A330 is the right aircraft for our customers and our bottom line and acquiring this additional aircraft will allow us to better capitalize on improving demand as the economic recovery gets underway."
Hawaiian's firm commitments for the A330 deliveries to date are as follows:
Like the other A330s that Hawaiian is acquiring, this newest aircraft will carry more passengers, fly farther, and be more fuel-efficient than the company's existing widebody fleet of B767s.
Hawaiian's new A330s will seat 294 passengers – 30 more than its current fleet – in a two-class configuration and have an operating range of 6,050 nautical miles that would allow Hawaiian to fly nonstop between Hawaii and points in eastern Asia and all of North America.
A highlight of Hawaiian's A330s will be the state-of-the-art on-demand entertainment system installed in each seatback. A high-resolution LCD touch screen monitor will allow passengers to choose from a wide selection of movies and video programs, audio channels and video games. Each system will also include a USB port allowing passengers to connect their own media players. Passengers sitting in First Class will enjoy the added benefits of having a larger monitor and iPOD compatibility.
In 2017, Hawaiian will continue to expand its fleet by taking the first delivery of six new A350XWB-800 (Extra Wide Body) aircraft from Airbus, with options to purchase an additional six aircraft. The next-generation fuel-efficient A350s will seat 322 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 Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Europe.