Hawaii-based Airlines - HA adds 3 717-200 aircraft interisland flight

Hi All,

Hawaiian Air announces to lease 15 717-200 aircraft for interisland flight and they will hired 40 or 50 pilots, ground staffs and etc. That will be enough more passengers capacity for interisland flight.

Here the link:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hawaiian-Airlines-Expands-prnews-679354934.html?x=0&.v=1

Regards

Actually they are only adding 3 more aircraft to the fleet. The are just changing the financing on the existing 15.

Yeah, I saw that too. Where did they find 3 717s?

I wonder if they will ever restore the non-stop flights between OGG and LIH.

-David

Yeah, I saw that too. Where did they find 3 717s?

I wonder if they will ever restore the non-stop flights between OGG and LIH.

-David

Hmm... I'm speculating about the 3 717s. From Republic Airlines post Midwest Airlines buyout?

Yeah, I saw that too. Where did they find 3 717s?

I wonder if they will ever restore the non-stop flights between OGG and LIH.

-David

Boeing Capital has about 25 717s sitting in the desert somewhere...VCV or MHV I think that were with Mexicana Click before that airline shut down.

That makes sense. I think the HA press release said that Boeing Capital was involved in the transaction.

-David

Ah, that does make sense to me as well. I'm also wondering if any of the Boeing Capital planes were also leased to Midwest back in the day?

Ah, that does make sense to me as well. I'm also wondering if any of the Boeing Capital planes were also leased to Midwest back in the day?

Yes, I believe all of Midwest's 717s were going to Mexicana Click, but Mexicana went belly up mid-way through the 717 transition from Midwest to Mexicana Click so some of them may still be in Midwest colors and the rest in Mexicana Click colors.

Boeing Capital has about 25 717s sitting in the desert somewhere...VCV or MHV I think that were with Mexicana Click before that airline shut down.

Actually, I think it is VCV. This is where the 717 is still sitting in the deserts for a months.

Mahalo everyone for your posts. I remember flying on Midwest's 717s. They were great planes back then because they had 2+2 Recaro seating in the former Midwest Signature Class. Alas, that's all gone. When delivered to HA, please look to see if the 717s were recently made, like from somewhere around 2003. Those planes will have the straight cockpit windows without the "eyebrows" as in the older models. :cool:

Yeah, I saw that too. Where did they find 3 717s?

I wonder if they will ever restore the non-stop flights between OGG and LIH.

-David

There is at least 1 non-stop (its LIH-OGG). Were booked on it next March.
It goes at 9 am. Hope it doesnt turn into a HNL stop before then!

Count me among those who wondered where the heck they had found another three - I know the last time they needed more planes due to the AQ bankruptcy, they got one from Boeing lease, but picked up the other three (N488/489/490HA) from the Aussies (distinguishable, if I recall, by one big underseat stowage space on the 2-seat side), and the Aussies seem to be using their remaining ones.

Click Mexicana's misfortune is absolutely Hawaiian's good luck, because if it weren't for that, I don't think there would be any 717s sitting around out of use! As it is, Airfleets shows 25 stored, like somebody else said - MSN 55166-85 and 55190-4 - so there's plenty of room for HA or other users to pick up some extra airframes.

Why do they need them, though? Did YV go bankrupt while I was away? ;)

Did YV go bankrupt while I was away? ;)

YX went bankrupt around 2009, then they were bought out by Republic Airlines, where Republic merged YX with F9. During the bankruptcy/buyout/takeover process, YX got rid of their MD-80s first. Then they removed Signature Class from the 717s. When YX was ready to be merged with F9, Republic removed all of their 717s and replaced them with E170s. All of this tragedy happened in the course of two years. There is no more YX today. Only F9 and parent company Republic exist. When the 717s were removed from YX, it was like following a circus trying to keep up where these aircraft went to with Boeing Leasing.

YX went bankrupt around 2009, then they were bought out by Republic Airlines, where Republic merged YX with F9.

Not YX, YV (Mesa - which, if you're not confused enough already, is the majority stakeholder in a joint-venture with YX-controlled MW). If Mesa went bankrupt (and they've come close to defaulting on loans before), it'd be big news in Hawaii.

Not YX, YV (Mesa - which, if you're not confused enough already, is the majority stakeholder in a joint-venture with YX-controlled MW). If Mesa went bankrupt (and they've come close to defaulting on loans before), it'd be big news in Hawaii.

Yes, I was confused because the OP's discussion started with 717s so I thought the 717 discussion was threading through...

There is at least 1 non-stop (its LIH-OGG). Were booked on it next March.
It goes at 9 am. Hope it doesnt turn into a HNL stop before then!

There were no non-stops on jets between OGG and LIH last month when I went. Nice to know there at least back on the schedule next year, in at least one direction.

I ended up going on Island Air. It's an hour flight on a Dash-8, which to me was about 30 minutes too long. As nice as Island Air is, it's still a dash 8 with very limited carry on space, and no guarantee that your gate checked bag will be on the same flight as you.

And they weren't particularly cheap either. There's a market for non-stops between LIH and OGG and people will pay a premium over the flights that stop in HNL.

BTW, the interesting thing for me, was that in Lihue, the Island Air gate is in the same departure area that AA uses, so I had to go through Ag inspection even though I was flying interisland. I asked the Ag agents about it and they told me that if you have any items, they ask you to keep them in your bag when in that departure area.

-David

There were no non-stops on jets between OGG and LIH last month when I went. Nice to know there at least back on the schedule next year, in at least one direction.


I see the 9am flight from LIH to OGG now. I guess I only looked in the other direction, and I still don't see any n/s the other way. Anyway, 9AM return wouldn't have worked for me.

Thanks,
David

Why do they need them, though? Did YV go bankrupt while I was away? ;)
YV's performance lately has been horrendous, given aircraft shortage (http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110408_Unplanned_aircraft_shortage_cripples_go_M okulele_operations.html) (which I'm not sure they've fixed). Wonder if HA is smelling blood?

YV's performance lately has been horrendous, given aircraft shortage (http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110408_Unplanned_aircraft_shortage_cripples_go_M okulele_operations.html) (which I'm not sure they've fixed). Wonder if HA is smelling blood?
Perhaps. However, HA really needed to increase its interisland fleet to handle all of those passengers it's bringing over from its new international routes. :cool:

Not to be OT here but I also noticed that CO, in their last breath before becoming UA soon, just started ITO-LAX nonstop service. So that makes me think that HA should improve their capacity to serve their inter-island markets, now that feeder traffic from mainland and international destinations is escalating.

Not to be OT here but I also noticed that CO, in their last breath before becoming UA soon, just started ITO-LAX nonstop service. So that makes me think that HA should improve their capacity to serve their inter-island markets, now that feeder traffic from mainland and international destinations is escalating.
Well, the conventional wisdom here in East Hawaii is that the ITO-LAX flight will reduce HA's interisland business out of ITO by giving us a mainland option that doesn't involve connecting in HNL. I suppose some of the traffic originating at LAX and connecting points will go interisland, though. We all hope this works out better than ATA's ITO-OAK service, and it should since UA/CO have excellent connection opportunities into and out of LAX whereas ATA's were very limited.

Meanwhile, getting back on topic, I hope the new 717s result in more flights between neighbor islands without HNL connections. It would be great to get from the Big Island non-stop to Kauai, even only once a day each way.

Well, the conventional wisdom here in East Hawaii is that the ITO-LAX flight will reduce HA's interisland business out of ITO by giving us a mainland option that doesn't involve connecting in HNL.

Yeah... unfortunately it does involve dealing with UA, which certainly is no fun if you're non-elite. ;)

I suppose some of the traffic originating at LAX and connecting points will go interisland, though.

Sure - lots of people post on here asking about how to split their vacations between two or more islands, so flying into ITO just means you start out there, instead of flying into, and starting out in, KOA, OGG, HNL or LIH.

We all hope this works out better than ATA's ITO-OAK service

On this, I strongly agree. In fact, I hope it works out so well that AA and DL start flying here too. :D

Well, the conventional wisdom here in East Hawaii is that the ITO-LAX flight will reduce HA's interisland business out of ITO by giving us a mainland option that doesn't involve connecting in HNL. I suppose some of the traffic originating at LAX and connecting points will go interisland, though. We all hope this works out better than ATA's ITO-OAK service, and it should since UA/CO have excellent connection opportunities into and out of LAX whereas ATA's were very limited.
UA/CO also has a once-a-week ITO-SFO flight. I've flown on CO's ITO-LAX flight a couple of times during the last month and it's nice not having to change planes at HNL. Pricewise, it's very competitive with HA's current offerings. On the negative side, some of the 738s that they use on those routes don't have IFE.

Instead of having two (or three) nonstop flights from LAX-ITO per day, HA should look into using one of their 332s for an LAX-ITO-HNL route. It would free up a 717 to use for another interisland route and probably siphon off half of UA/CO's ITO-LAX passengers. ;)

I suppose some of the traffic originating at LAX and connecting points will go interisland, though. We all hope this works out better than ATA's ITO-OAK service, and it should since UA/CO have excellent connection opportunities into and out of LAX whereas ATA's were very limited.

Meanwhile, getting back on topic, I hope the new 717s result in more flights between neighbor islands without HNL connections. It would be great to get from the Big Island non-stop to Kauai, even only once a day each way.

Good luck with the new CO ITO service! I agree with what you are saying that hopefully, more HA 717s will result in more inter-island flight connections without an HNL transfer.

UA/CO also has a once-a-week ITO-SFO flight. I've flown on CO's ITO-LAX flight a couple of times during the last month and it's nice not having to change planes at HNL. Pricewise, it's very competitive with HA's current offerings. On the negative side, some of the 738s that they use on those routes don't have IFE.

Instead of having two (or three) nonstop flights from LAX-ITO per day, HA should look into using one of their 332s for an LAX-ITO-HNL route. It would free up a 717 to use for another interisland route and probably siphon off half of UA/CO's ITO-LAX passengers. ;)

That would be great if HA can offer an LAX-ITO-HNL route and I will add, an LAX-KOA-HNL route as well. Currently, HA also offers an HNL-OGG-LAS route on certain days of the week, albeit there is a transfer in OGG. About 3 years ago, when HA operated a SAN-OGG nonstop route, many pax were connecting at OGG to another HA flight to HNL.

That would be great if HA can offer an LAX-ITO-HNL route and I will add, an LAX-KOA-HNL route as well. Currently, HA also offers an HNL-OGG-LAS route on certain days of the week, albeit there is a transfer in OGG. About 3 years ago, when HA operated a SAN-OGG nonstop route, many pax were connecting at OGG to another HA flight to HNL.
There's too much competition for HA to make a decent profit on an LAX-KOA-HNL route. However, there's an opportunity for a carrier to offer direct HND-KOA or NRT-KOA service. ;)
http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/2010/08/26/kona-news-—-japan-airlines-to-suspend-narita-to-kona-flights-in-october-new-e-komo-mai-program-to-roll-out-in-the-next-6-months/
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542329/Last-JAL-Kona-to-Tokyo-flight-lands-on-Big-Island.html?nav=8

the CO ITO-LAX flights have been pretty full from what I've heard. I don't think there is enough demand to get 2 or 3 more airlines out here though. I think what ITO really needs is a nice resort that is a short drive to the volcano. The hotels offered here just arent at the level expected from tourists and thats why they typically stay in KOA. If we had that, then you might see the demand needed for more airlines to begin service to ITO.

I got to work the 1st CO flight in when they started service, it was cool :D

There's too much competition for HA to make a decent profit on an LAX-KOA-HNL route. However, there's an opportunity for a carrier to offer direct HND-KOA or NRT-KOA service. ;)
http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/2010/08/26/kona-news-—-japan-airlines-to-suspend-narita-to-kona-flights-in-october-new-e-komo-mai-program-to-roll-out-in-the-next-6-months/
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/542329/Last-JAL-Kona-to-Tokyo-flight-lands-on-Big-Island.html?nav=8

Yes, I did hear about that as well. There's an opportunity!

the CO ITO-LAX flights have been pretty full from what I've heard. I don't think there is enough demand to get 2 or 3 more airlines out here though. I think what ITO really needs is a nice resort that is a short drive to the volcano. The hotels offered here just arent at the level expected from tourists and thats why they typically stay in KOA. If we had that, then you might see the demand needed for more airlines to begin service to ITO.

I got to work the 1st CO flight in when they started service, it was cool :D

There used to be some nice hotels in Hilo back in the early 70s when 747s from other carriers used to fly there. All of that is history now. Congrats for working on the 1st CO flight. Very cool!

There's too much competition for HA to make a decent profit on an LAX-KOA-HNL route. However, there's an opportunity for a carrier to offer direct HND-KOA or NRT-KOA service. ;)

Well, if they're looking for a way to lose money... :(

There used to be some nice hotels in Hilo back in the early 70s when 747s from other carriers used to fly there. All of that is history now.

Huh? I thought they were still here. At least, every hotel I've seen in Hilo looks like it was probably nice back in the early 1970s. ;)

Not YX, YV (Mesa - which, if you're not confused enough already, is the majority stakeholder in a joint-venture with YX-controlled MW). If Mesa went bankrupt (and they've come close to defaulting on loans before), it'd be big news in Hawaii.

Mesa's already gone bankrupt - they just didn't include Go!

Huh? I thought they were still here. At least, every hotel I've seen in Hilo looks like it was probably nice back in the early 1970s. ;)

I'm curious and sorry to be slightly OT here. Which was the hotel where guests boarded a canoe that would take them to their hotel check-in?. That was in Hilo back in the day, yes? Is it still there today?

I'm curious and sorry to be slightly OT here. Which was the hotel where guests boarded a canoe that would take them to their hotel check-in?. That was in Hilo back in the day, yes? Is it still there today?

By chance, are you thinking of the Coco Palms in Kauai (closed 1992)?

By chance, are you thinking of the Coco Palms in Kauai (closed 1992)?

Yes, Coco Palms had the same set up as well. ;)

they tweeted a pic of a new arrival (717)

https://twitter.com/#!/HawaiianAir/status/148842483718176768/photo/1

they tweeted a pic of a new arrival (717)

https://twitter.com/#!/HawaiianAir/status/148842483718176768/photo/1

Argh, cannot make out N-number. :( And AirFleets.net doesn't know this one yet, it looks like. Oh well, I'll just have to keep an eye out for it!

Argh, cannot make out N-number. :( And AirFleets.net doesn't know this one yet, it looks like. Oh well, I'll just have to keep an eye out for it!

I'll check it out for you. I will find out onto the airfleets pages. I am not sure for which the registration number is that. I'll let you know soon as possible.

According to HNLRarebirds its N922ME.

According to HNLRarebirds its N922ME.

Actually, it is N493HA. I got on Twitter from Hawaiian Air. This is new aircraft registration number is N493HA.

Actually, it is N493HA. I got on Twitter from Hawaiian Air. This is new aircraft registration number is N493HA.

Thanks - I'll watch for it when flying inter-island. :)