Hawaiian Airlines and Airbus sign purchase agreement for new aircraft

Hawaiian Airlines on Thursday announced a definitive purchase agreement with Airbus, finalizing the Memorandum of Understanding announced earlier this year to acquire six new A330-800neo aircraft starting in 2019.

The agreement replaces Hawaiian’s previous order for six A350-800s. The transaction includes rights to purchase an additional six aircraft as part of the carrier’s path to growth and increased efficiency, Hawaiian Airlines said. Airbus said that Hawaiian Airlines is the first U.S. airline to order the aircraft.

The A330-800neo wide-body, powered by the Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engine, is similar in size to Hawaiian’s A330-200 which seats 294 passengers in a two class configuration (First and Coach), and will incorporate aerodynamic enhancements that will increase range by up to 400-nautical miles and reduce fuel consumption by 14 percent per seat.

“The A330-800neo is an aircraft which meets all of our needs,” said Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. “It is the right size, with the right range and costs, and shares much commonality with our A330-200 fleet. Our customers and crew love the aircraft and we are thrilled that it will continue to be Hawaiian’s wide-body mainstay for far into the future.”

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the aircraft have a total list-price value of approximately $2.9 billion if all of the purchase rights are exercised. Hawaiian Airlines’ existing orders include an additional three new A330-200s for delivery in 2015 and 16 narrow-body A321neo aircraft starting in 2017.

Hawaiian Airlines currently operates a fleet of 50 aircraft, comprised of 29 wide-body, long-haul aircraft (294-seat A330-200 aircraft and 252 to 264-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft), 18 narrow-body 118- to 123-seat Boeing 717-200 aircraft and three 48-seat ATR42-500 for Neighbor Island flights.