Hawaiian Airlines have announced they intend to order ten Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with options for ten more. Powered by the General Electric GEnx engine, the first aircraft are due for delivery in 2021.
Why is this a big deal? Hawaiian previously held orders for six Airbus A330-800 aircraft which have now been cancelled. They were the only airline in the world to have this on order so now there are none.
Hawaiian Destinations
When flying to Australia, Hawaiian is a great option as they serve both Brisbane and Sydney. This makes one stop flights from the Australian east coast to the American west coast possible via Honolulu.
This means passengers can avoid US Immigration in Los Angeles which can be a pretty terrible experience. From all accounts, doing this in Hawaii is much more pleasant and it’s not just because of the surroundings!
Naturally there is also an extensive network throughout the Hawaiian islands and the continental United States. An interesting fact is that Hawaiian use the Boeing 717 for their inter-Hawaiian island destinations meaning this is a good place to visit to go on that relatively rare jet.
Other Services
Did you know you can book a lei greeting with Hawaiian? Well, you can. For those that don’t know, lei is “a symbol of hospitality, love, respect, and aloha. Worn by both men and women, lei is gently draped over the shoulders, hanging down in front and back. The garland of beautiful, sweet-scented flowers can be worn anytime and anywhere, on special occasions, or no occasion at all.”
There is also a business class cabin available on many routes. This features lie-flat seats and all the usual amenities one would expect from a decent airline. You can check out all the details as well as which routes at this helpful page (which took me ages to find on their web site, which is a bit of a fail!).
Overall Thoughts
Hawaiian have been flying to Australia for many years now so I’ve always kept an eye on what they are doing. The switch to the modern Boeing 787 is obviously a better bet for them than an older Airbus A330neo.
Have you ever flown with Hawaiian on a long haul flight? What are they like? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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All images via Hawaiian Airlines.
I have flown on Hawaiian from JFK, AKL, and KIX. I found the service and food to be above average. I really like the Hawaiian music playing as soon as you board and the flight attendants dressed in aloha shirts. If flying from the US, Hawaiian was always my first choice due to them flying the A330 vs the 757 or 767, especially from New York. Hawaiian keeps their passengers well fed whereas United from EWR just gives you a few snacks for the 11 hour flight.
Great to hear that! It matches what I’ve heard, that they’re pretty unique in a lot of ways and treat people nicely, plus they have a decent fleet and product. They’re certainly on my list of airlines I want to fly with!