Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Dunkerly has confirmed the airline is considering acquiring B787s given anemic global sales for the A330-800neo of which it has six on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac).
Speaking to CNN, Dunkerly said weak global demand for the -800 had lead Hawaiian to question whether the aircraft was the right option. Aside from the six A330-800neo on firm order, Hawaiian has options for six more of the type with deliveries due for 2019 (two), 2020 (two), and 2021 (two). It is, at present, the type's only customer with other operators preferring to go for the larger A330-900neo instead.
"We're still a big believer in the [Airbus] program, but we also know that Boeing (BOE, Washington National) has some terrific alternatives which we're also interested in looking at," he said adding that talks with Boeing have focussed on the B787 family.
Hawaiian currently operates a mixed widebody fleet entailing one B767-300, seven B767-300(ER)s, and twenty-four A330-200s. However, the B767s are due to be withdrawn from service by the end of 2018 being replaced by A330-200 and A321neo capacity.
According to Dunkerly, Hawaiian may retain its fleet of twenty B717-200s, that currently average almost 16 years of age, well into the 2030s.
"...we've got plenty of runway ahead and at this stage we're not even contemplating retirement," he said.
