Last updated on February 15th, 2024 at 12:01 pm
I was very much looking forward to seeing Pualani adorning a sharklet tail of a Dreamliner sometime early this year. Unfortunately, that’ll have to wait a bit more again. Yup, Hawaiian further defers 787 deliveries for reasons they haven’t disclosed, though they did also make a bit of a surprise move too.
The Boeing 787-9 has been a long time coming for Hawaiian. Announced by CEO Peter Ingram not long after he replaced Mark Dunkerly, the Dreamliner was supposed to join the fleet in 2021. However, manufacturing issues and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a years-long delay in deliveries. In fact, had the first jet arrived this quarter, it would’ve been a full two years late. Too bad, then, that we’ll have to wait even longer now.
Hawaiian Further Defers 787 Deliveries
As of this writing, Hawaiian has made no formal announcement about its latest delay. Seth Miller broke the news on his Twitter account, claiming that the first 787 won’t arrive until Q4 2023. That will be followed by three frames in 2024, and the remainder spread out throughout 2025, 2026, and 2027. So long as the schedule doesn’t slip again, we’ll have to wait most of this year to finally welcome one of these birds home – that’s almost three years behind schedule.
While no reason was given for the delay, I suspect Hawaiian didn’t want to take the financial hit for the jet right now. Could they use more birds? Clearly. But a single aircraft of a different type really isn’t going to do anything for them. Plus, I’m sure Boeing appreciates having more time to rework Hawaiian’s sole completed airframe.
That said, news that Hawaiian further defers 787 deliveries wasn’t the only thing Seth broke. Apparently, Hawaiian is also exercising two of its ten options, bringing its total firm orders to 12. This means that Hawaiian’s 787 orders now more than covers the number of leased A330s they have in their fleet (10). I suspect that these frames will replace A330s on longer routes and higher-density routes while the owned A330s will continue to fly thinner and shorter routes.
Final Thoughts
I’m disappointed that Hawaiian further defers 787 deliveries by nearly a year, though I can appreciate their decision to do so. Though I don’t really fly Hawaiian, there’s no denying that I’m excited to see this gorgeous plane in person. And one of these days, I do hope to fly on one, which will be my first ride on a Dreamliner. After all, I still have a stash of HawaiianMiles!