Hawaiian Airlines is studying Airbus A330 and Boeing 767/777 long-range twins as potential replacements for up to 14 McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, currently operated between the Hawaiian islands, mainland USA and South Pacific destinations.
A decision is expected "within the next 12 months", says Hawaiian Airlines president Paul Casey. He adds that the final choice will "clearly be a long-range twin".
Ten of the airline's DC-10-10s are leased from American Airlines with a further two DC-10-30s on lease from Continental Airlines. An additional two -30s have been bought by Hawaiian directly.
Rising fuel prices have injected new urgency into the study, says Casey, who describes its impact on planning as "the big unknown".
The airline is desperate to drive down costs as part of its continuing slow recovery from bankruptcy during the 1990s, and plans to rush fuel-efficient Boeing 717-200s into service throughout next year as a key element of this strategy.
Casey says all 13 717s on firm order will be delivered by December 2001, with the first due for use in March. "We want them in service as fast as we can," says Casey, who cautions: "We are not out of the woods yet, financially."
The airline also holds options on a further seven 717s and is discussing firming up the first two aircraft in that batch, says Casey. The 717s will replace 15 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s used on routes from the airline's Honolulu hub to the islands of Maui, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai and Hawaii.
The first Hawaiian aircraft is the 50th 717 to be built, and the 49th to be delivered. The first is retained as a test airframe by Boeing.
Source: Flight International
