Hawaiian adding three 767s to its fleet
By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Airlines has sealed a $330 million deal for three new Boeing 767 aircraft that will begin to replace the aging DC-10 fleet it uses on its Mainland and Pacific routes.
The company has signed a letter of intent with Ansett Worldwide Aviation Inc. to lease the extended-range 767-300 aircraft, the company said yesterday. The new aircraft will begin arriving in October, with one coming each month until the end of the year.
Whether the 767 will replace the airline's entire fleet of 14 DC-10s — many of which are more than 20 years old — is still under discussion, said Hawaiian Spokesman Keoni Wagner.
"The solution for replacing the balance of the DC-10s hasn't yet been decided," he said.
The decision on the 767 was made Friday during a teleconference board meeting, Wagner said.
Ansett, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Seattle, New York, London, Sao Paulo and Miami, is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co.
The 767s will have 252 seats, the company said, more than 15 percent fewer than the DC-10s, which range from 299 seats to 304. The new planes will feature 18 seats in first class and 234 in coach.
The deal will move Hawaiian closer to becoming a modern, more efficient airline. The 767 agreement comes only weeks after the company began replacing its 25-year-old interisland fleet with 13 factory-fresh Boeing 717 aircraft, a $430 million investment that will replace the current DC-9s by the end of the year.
The company is also organizing labor agreements, reaching a tentative pact with its flight attendants last month, and signing a new deal with its pilots late last year. It is still in talks with its three other unions.
