by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:20 PM ET, Wed March 7, 2018
Hawaiian Airlines announced Tuesday it signed a non-binding letter of intent with Boeing for the purchase of 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, dealing a heavy blow to Airbus.
Hawaiian originally placed an order for Airbus A330neos planes but dropped the order in favor of the American-made widebody long-haul jets from Boeing.
The first of the Boeing Dreamliners is scheduled to be delivered to Hawaiian by the first quarter of 2021, and the deal includes an option to purchase an additional 10 aircraft. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 54 aircraft, including 24 Airbus A330-200, 20 Boeing 717 narrow-body aircraft, eight 767 wide-body aircraft and two A321neo planes.
"The Dreamliner combines excellent comfort for our guests with fantastic operational performance and will allow us to continue modernizing our fleet into the next decade," Hawaiian CEO Peter Ingram said in a statement. "It has more seating capacity than Hawaiian's current wide-body fleet, which will allow us to further build upon our successful growth in Asia."
"We were in the enviable position of choosing between two outstanding models for our flagship aircraft of the future and I couldn't be more excited about the prospect of adding the Dreamliner to Hawaiian's fleet," Ingram continued.
The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will feature a spacious wide-body cabin, extra-large windows, dimmable LED window shades, larger overhead luggage bins and elite fuel efficiency for Hawaiian's long-haul routes.
Hawaiian officials expect to finalize purchase agreements with Boeing in the second quarter of 2018 and will use the new planes as part of the negotiating process with the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants.
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