Hawaiian Dumps Airbus Order for Boeing Jets
21 Febbraio 2018 - 9:13PM
Dow Jones News
By Doug Cameron and Robert Wall
Hawaiian Airlines is expected to cancel an order for Airbus SE
long-haul jets in favor of buying its first new Boeing Co. 787-9
Dreamliners, according to people familiar with the
negotiations.
Boeing's win in a closely watched contest is a rare example of a
plane maker successfully flipping an airline's choice of
intercontinental jets, and people familiar with the situation said
discounts offered by the U.S. company were a key factor.
The competition for wide-body deals has become particularly
intense following a lull in orders over the past two years for
larger planes, which typically are more profitable for plane makers
than single-aisle jets.
The unit of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. had originally ordered six
Airbus A330-800neo jets, a version of the European plane maker's
popular twin-aisle jet that has struggled to gain customers.
Hawaiian was the sole customer for the A330-800 model that
typically would seat around 257 passengers.
"We have not signed an agreement with either manufacturer," said
a spokesman for the airline. "We look forward to announcing the
conclusion of those negotiations when it is appropriate to do
so."
Boeing declined to comment.
Hawaiian operates an existing version of the A330 on flights to
Asia and the U.S. and has taken the first of its smaller Airbus
A321neo jets, which have been affected by problems involving the
plane's Pratt & Whitney engines that have limited their
flying.
The engine issues didn't influence its decision to buy the
Boeing jets, according to people familiar with the situation.
Hawaiian had said it would consider flying direct to London, the
single-largest market for U.S. trans-Atlantic flights, if the
Airbus plane has the range to perform that mission. The carrier
hasn't announced firm plans to fly to the U.K. capital.
Airbus has been pressing ahead with work on the A330-800 despite
its weak order book. A test plane to certify the aircraft was
painted this month ahead of the start of flight trials.
The first of the larger versions, the A330-900, which would
typically seat around 287 passengers, is due for delivery this year
to Portugal's TAP airline. Airbus has 214 orders for that model
with Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X buying 66 of
them.
Analysts have expressed concern Airbus may have to lower A330
production rates because of a dearth of orders for the new version,
which competes not only with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner but also its
own, newer A350 long-range jetliner.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Robert Wall at
robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 21, 2018 14:58 ET (19:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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