2018 has and continues to be a year of significant growth for aviation in Hawaii. And that trend doesn’t appear to be stopping soon as Air Canada doubles down in Hawaii.
Today, Air Canada serves the islands of Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island via its low-cost subsidiary, Rouge. Maui and Oahu currently see daily frequencies, while Kona has flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday seasonally. These flights are operated by the Airline’s fleet of Boeing 767-300ERs, featuring 24 Premium Rouge, 35 Rouge Plus, and 223 economy seats for a total of 282 seats. That’s 71 more seats than Air Canada’s standard 767-300ERs have.
New Service
Beginning October 27, 2018, Air Canada Rouge will stop service to Hawaii. In its place, mainline Air Canada will launch service to the islands. But, in addition to this changeover, Air Canada will double its frequencies to Oahu and Maui. The Airline will also add three-times-weekly service to Lihue, Kauai, running every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
New Equipment
Not only is the level of service and the frequencies changing on Air Canada’s Hawaii routes, but so is the equipment. When Rouge service ends, Air Canada won’t be keeping 767s on its Hawaii routes. Instead, the airline will operate its new Boeing 737 MAX 8’s to Hawaii.
And, yes, these aircraft are small, featuring 16 business and 153 economy seats, for a total of 169 seats. However, for Maui and Oahu at least, the number of seats on these routes are seeing a net increase. Instead of just 282 seats on the 767, the two 737 MAX flights will feature a total of 338 seats.
Air Canada Doubles Down in Hawaii, Final Thoughts
More flight are always a good thing, especially when airlines downgauge their equipment. Better yet, it’s great to see service being upgraded from a low-cost subsidiary to the mainline airline. And it’s great to see Air Canada both increasing frequency and enhancing its service to the islands. However, this makes me wonder how this could affect Hawaiian Air’s future plans.
While no Canadian routes have been announced, it has long been speculated that Hawaiian would commence service to Vancouver. Especially now since the Airline has begun accepting deliveries of its new Airbus A321neo’s. However, if those plans are in the works, they are likely on hold now thanks to the Pratt & Whitney Engine issues. But, again, service to YVR is just speculation. Only time will tell what will ultimately happen.
It’s called “Rouge”, not “Rogue” (as in the Star Wars movie).
Ah, damn autocorrect! Thanks, Steven
I kind of wish they called it “Rogue”. It might better express the mood of their passengers as they fight for overhead baggage space.
HAH! That would’ve been awesome.