Hawaiian Airlines could fill Midwestern ‘void’ with Dreamliners
Hawaiian Airlines could land somewhere in the Midwest with the arrival of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the next few years.
"We have a pretty big void in the network between Phoenix and Las Vegas, and Boston and New York," Brent Overbeek, vice-president of revenue management and network planning at the Honolulu-based carrier, said at the World Routes conference in Adelaide, Australia, on Sunday. "We could look to fill in there."
Overbeek was responding to questions on where Hawaiian is looking to fly the 10 787-9s that it has on order. The aircraft will complement its fleet of Airbus A330-200s on long-haul routes.
The airline is due to take delivery of its first Dreamliner in 2021, its latest fleet plan shows.
Related: Hawaiian Unveils New 787 Business Class
Hawaiian has a broad network to the U.S. West Coast, including interior cities Las Vegas (LAS) and Phoenix (PHX). It also serves Boston (BOS) and New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) on the East Coast, both hubs for its codeshare partner JetBlue Airways.
But the Midwest has long been a gap in the airline's map. Numerous investor presentations over the past several years have acknowledged this gap, which includes multiple large metropolitan areas like Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. However, Hawaiian has looked elsewhere for growth as competitors offer greater depth in the region and easy one-stop connections to Hawaii over existing hubs.
Competition for Hawaii-bound Midwestern travelers has only ratcheted up with Southwest Airlines this year. While connections were initially difficult when the the Dallas-based discounter began flights in March the carrier is rapidly expanding flights to the islands with new routes from Sacramento (SMF) and to Kona (KOA) and Lihue (LIH) starting in January.
Related: Southwest's 'Second Wave' of Hawaii Expansion Is Now Underway
The 787 could allow Hawaiian to shrink its Midwestern gap. The aircraft's lower operating economics compared to current-generation wide-bodies, including the A330, has been credited with opening numerous new long-haul markets around the world. A recent example is British Airways' new seasonal summer flights to Charleston (CHS) in South Carolina from London Heathrow (LHR) that began in April.
Hawaiian has several years to decide where to deploy its Dreamliners. Overbeek said Hawaiian is focused on Japan over the next year when it hopes to implement a planned joint venture with Japan Airlines (JAL). The immunized partnership would allow the carriers to act as essentially one, jointly coordinating schedules and fares among other things, between Japan and Hawaii.
Hawaiian will begin a new flight to Tokyo Haneda (HND) from Honolulu with an A330 in March. The frequency will be timed to provide connections to JAL's domestic flights from the close-in Tokyo airport.
To listen to an interview with Brian Kelly talking to the CEO of Hawaiian Airlines listen here:
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app