Hawaiian is Planning to Divest A330s?

Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 06:38 pm

Yes, you read that title correctly. I touched on this briefly during my most recent post about Hawaiian’s PW1100G woes, but an article from the other week casually mentioned A330 lease extensions. That made me take a double take and ask myself, Hawaiian is planning to divest A330s?!

The Airbus A330-200 is the backbone of Hawaiian’s medium- and long-haul fleet. Currently, they have 24 of these birds on the roster, making it the most numerous type in their inventory. The next most common aircraft in Hawaiian’s fleet is, of course, their aging collection of 19 Boeing 717s, and their troubled collection of 18 Airbus A321neos. 

There’s no doubt that the A330 revolutionized Hawaiian’s service, bringing aboard the Airlines’ first lie-flat product, and giving them the legs to open tough routes like Honolulu-Boston. And, today, they fly EVERYWHERE for Hawaiian, from the U.S. East Coast, to the U.S. West Coast, to Asia, Australia, and even inter-islands at times. So hearing news that Hawaiian is planning to divest A330s was shocking to me. 

Hawaiian is Planning to Divest A330s?

Reporting on Hawaiian’s continuing A321neo issues, ch-aviation casually noted towards the end of its article that company officials mentioned that they’d be extending the leases on four A330s that were coming up in 2024 in response to the ongoing PW1100 issues. However, they also note that Hawaiian has more than just four A330s leases up for renewal in 2024. There is one additional aircraft that seems like it will be going back to its lessor next year. The other four will now remain until 2026. 

In total, half of Hawaiian’s A330-200 fleet is leased, those 12 jets include:

• N360HA Tutukamolehonua
• N361HA Hoku Mau
• N375HA Humu
• N378HA Kaukamalama
• N379HA Pauahi
• N380HA Makali’i
• N381HA Hokule’a
• N382HA Iwakeli’i
• N388HA Nahiku
• N389HA Keali’iokonaikalewa
• N390HA Nāmāhoe
• N392HA Hikianalia

It’s worth noting that N380HA is the very first A330 Hawaiian took delivery of way back in 2011, followed by N381HA shortly after. Which aircraft specifically are included in the five leases coming due next year? I’m not sure. ch-aviation notes that the lessors of the aircraft are Macquarie AirFinance, Avolon, Doric Asset Finance, and Air Lease Corporation. That said, I don’t think the specific aircraft set to go back is important. What is more important is what the hell Hawaiian plans on replacing these birds with. 

As originally planned, Hawaiian was set to potentially return five Airbus A330s next year. This comes, by the way, as they work to restore their entire pre-pandemic route network. And if Hawaiian does fully restore all routes, do they have any frames to spare? Much less five? True, they are beginning to receive their hotly anticipated Boeing 787s soon, but they aren’t going to arrive quickly enough to replace A330s one-to-one. Close – they’re taking delivery of four next year – but not exactly one for one. 

What This Means for Hawaiian’s Network

News that Hawaiian is planning to Divest A330s brings into question how they plan on deploying these birds once again. We know initial routes are focused on West Coast flying as crews adjust to operating them. But once Hawaiian takes delivery of all 12 firm orders by the end of 2027, there was the potential to see far more creative routes appear. But if Hawaiian intends to divest A330s as 787s enter the fleet, then it’s likely that we won’t see any new flying. Rather, we’ll likely see these beautiful birds employed on Hawaiian’s longer routes, including the U.S. East Coast, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Aotearoa. 

You know what? the more I think about it, an eventual one-for-one replacement sounds like it’s exactly what they’re planning on doing. After all, if Hawaiian is planning to divest A330s, disposing of all twelve leased planes lines up precisely with the number of Dreamliners they have on order. That means we likely won’t see any direct flights from Hawaii to Europe, which is a bit disappointing. 

What Routes Will Retain A330s?

Let’s take a look at what routes the A330 fly today. This will give us an idea of what routes will likely stay with the A330 and which will transition to the 787 by the end of the decade.

From Honolulu, A330s fly to:

• San Francisco – 2,398 miles
• Sacramento – 2,462 miles
• Los Angeles (3x daily) – 2,556 miles
• Pago Pago, American Samoa – 2,600 miles
• Portland – 2,603 miles
• San Diego – 2,614 miles
• Seattle – 2,677 miles 
• Las Vegas (3x daily) – 2,762 miles
• Aukland, Aotearoa – 2,873 miles
• Phoenix: 2,917 miles 
• New Chitose (Sapporo, Japan) – 3,751 miles
• Austin – 3,763 miles 
• Tokyo Narita (Japan) – 3,819 miles
• Tokyo Haneda (Japan) – 3,873 miles
• Kansai (Osaka, Japan) – 4,116 miles
• Fukuoka, Japan – 4,397 miles
• New York JFK – 4,983 miles
• Sydney, Australia – 5,066 miles 
• Boston – 5,095 miles 

From Kahului, A330s fly to:

• Los Angeles – 2,485 miles
• Seattle – 2,640 miles 

From Kona, A330s fly to:

• Tokyo Haneda (Japan) – 4,013 miles 

That’s 21 routes the A330 currently operates, 25 if you count the three times daily Los Angeles. Of course, not all of these routes operate daily, such as HNL-PPG and KOA-HND, while HNL-CTS hasn’t been reinstated yet. But, at any rate, it appears that Hawaiian has just one airframe available per route. As such, come 2028, after the final 787 has been delivered, I expect those to be put into service on the following routes:

From Honolulu:

• Aukland, Aotearoa – 2,873 miles
• New Chitose (Sapporo, Japan) – 3,751 miles
• Austin – 3,763 miles 
• Tokyo Narita (Japan) – 3,819 miles
• Tokyo Haneda (Japan) – 3,873 miles
• Kansai (Osaka, Japan) – 4,116 miles
• Fukuoka, Japan – 4,397 miles
• New York JFK – 4,983 miles
• Sydney, Australia – 5,066 miles 
• Boston – 5,095 miles 

From Kona:

• Tokyo Haneda (Japan) – 4,013 miles 

The 787 excels at long-distance flying, so it makes sense to put it on Hawaiian’s longer routes, especially since it has a superior business class product. Hawaiian could potentially put the 787 on flagship West Coast routes, too, especially Los Angeles. At least, this is the most sensible strategy I can see if Hawaiian is planning to divest A330s. 

Hawaiian is Planning to Divest A330s, Final Thoughts

The fact that Hawaiian is planning to divest A330s caught me off-guard. Initially, it seemed like the 787s were there to expand their route network. But, I guess COVID caused a major shift in Hawaiian’s strategy. It seems like they’ll be maintaining the status quo, at least for now, while they struggle to return to profitability and restore their operations. And, yeah, Hawaiian has a ton of challenges to deal with right now, including their problematic A321neos, soft Japanese demand, an increasingly decrepit fleet of inter-island jets, soaring operating costs, and fierce competition. With all that, I don’t blame them for wanting to play safe. I just hope they can dig themselves out of their current predicament.