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Hawaiian “forced to refine capacity plans” amid A321neo delay
January 27th 2017
Airbus has informed Hawaiian Airlines that the delivery of its first three A321neos would be delayed by another three months to the fourth quarter of 2017. Read More »
“[It] all but rules out our prior plan to have them in service for our busy winter peak,” Hawaiian CEO, Mark Dunkerley, said this week in a call with analysts and reporters. “The delay impacts our projected ASM growth for the year and of course the revenues we anticipate in the fourth quarter.”
Hawaiian CCO, Peter Ingram, added the delivery delay of the A321neo is forcing the airline “to refine” its capacity plans for the year. "[While] in the first quarter we expect our capacity to grow 2.5% to 4.5% from last year, now we are expecting full year capacity growth of 1% to 4%," Ingram said.
The Honolulu-headquartered carrier has ordered 16 A321neos. It sees the neo as a game changer for its Hawaii-U.S. West Coast services currently operated largely by fuel-guzzling B767s.
Nevertheless, Hawaiian and its executives are refusing to engage in a smear campaign against the manufacturer the way Qatar Airways did when its deliveries were pushed back.
Dunkerley said his airline was “certainly not stepping away from [its] enthusiasm for the airplane”. The Hawaiian boss added: “Airbus is giving us their best belief in the delivery of this aircraft. It’s tied to the release of an improved component in the Pratt GTF [PW1135G-JM] engine. So I think their level of confidence is reasonably high. That is not to say that it’s a cast-iron guarantee, but we have every expectation of receiving the aircraft that has been established.”
Hawaiian on Tuesday posted a full-year 2016 net profit of $244 million, up 34% from net income of $183 million in 2015. Revenues grew 5.7% year-on-year to US$2.5 billion. Costs increased 7.9% and yield dropped 1.1%.
