Hawaiian Airlines reduces summer schedule
Hawaiian Airlines has trimmed its summer flying schedule because of engine trouble that has dogged one of Airbus’s most popular jets.
The state’s largest carrier removed an extra summer flight between San Francisco and Honolulu and a seasonal flight between Oakland, Calif., and Kona, citing later-than-expected deliveries of Airbus A321neo planes. The delays are due to fixes on the Pratt & Whitney engines powering the single-aisle jetliners, Hawaiian spokesman Alex Da Silva said Friday.
The airline also pushed back the start of a new flight between Oakland and Lihue to July 15 from April 11.
Guests already booked on the three affected routes will be re-accommodated on other Hawaiian flights from the Bay Area to their final destination.
“We know how popular our seasonal summer flights have become, and we regret being unable to provide the full scope of services we had hoped to offer out of the Bay Area,” said Brent Overbeek, Hawaiian’s vice president for revenue management and network planning. “In spite of these changes, we continue to be the top carrier among Bay Area travelers visiting our islands.”
Regulators grounded some of Airbus’s A320neo jets earlier this month after discovering a new problem with a newly introduced engine seal on Pratt’s geared turbofan. Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp., since has found a temporary fix that will keep the planes flying until it finds a permanent solution for the fault, which caused vibrations.
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Hawaiian has taken two A321neo jetliners from Airbus, one of which was affected by the engine problem, Da Silva said. While that aircraft is expected back shortly, the engine fixes potentially will delay some deliveries of new planes, Da Silva said.
The carrier expects to take an additional nine of the A321neo jets by the end of the year, according to a regulatory filing by the company earlier this month.
“We’re working with Airbus and Pratt & Whitney to understand the extent of the impact,” Da Silva said.
A list of affected flights can be found at HawaiianAirlines.com/SummerScheduleChange. The airline’s reservations department is working to re- accommodate everyone affected, and first will call and email guests who have the earliest travel dates.
Hawaiian also is refuting reports that it has terminated its agreement to purchase six Airbus A330-800neo jets in favor of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Hawaiian was the only customer for the 257-seat A330-800.
“It is well known that Hawaiian Air has been negotiating with both Boeing and Airbus for the next addition to our fleet,” Hawaiian said in a statement. “We have not signed an agreement with either manufacturer. We look forward to announcing the conclusion of those negotiations when it is appropriate to do so.”
Star-Advertiser reporter Dave Segal contributed to this story.