Six years after announcing the choice of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to reinforce its long-range fleet, Hawaiian Airlines finally presented the first widebody of the type on February 23.
The ceremony was held in Honolulu and marks a new phase for the US carrier, which ordered 12 Boeing 787s in 2018 and will debut them from April 15, initially to San Francisco, California.
The 787-9 Dreamliner with registration number N781HA was named ‘Kapuahi’ and attracted the visit of more than 1,500 employees and guests, who had the opportunity to see the aircraft up close.
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Hawaiian configured the 787 with 300 seats, 34 of them in the new Leihōkū class, as well as 266 seats in economy class. The aircraft is expected to gradually replace the Airbus A330 by 2027.
Two others 787-9 coming in 2024
The second 787-9 Dreamliner, N780HA, is scheduled for delivery in March. With the two jets, Hawaiian intends to begin flights to Los Angeles on May 15 and to Phoenix the following day. A third Boeing will be delivered in 2024.
The debut of the Dreamliner comes amid the merger of the Hawaiian airline with Alaska Air, which made a proposal to acquire it.
“This day has been a long time coming – in fact, today marks almost six years to the date when we first announced our investment in the 787-9 as the new flagship fleet for our company,” said Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines.
