Hawaiian flies 10M passengers in 1 year

Hawaiian Airlines has served a record 10 million customers this year, the company said Thursday.

Hawaiian Airlines’ first 10 million passengers took nearly 40 years to carry, from 1929 to 1967, the company said.

Also Thursday, Hawaiian Airlines said it had reached a purchase agreement with Airbus paving the way for its acquisition of six new A330-800neo aircraft starting in 2019.

The agreement replaces Hawaiian’s previous order for six A350-800s. Terms of the transaction were not discussed; however, the agreement also includes rights to purchase six additional aircraft.

The A330-800neo wide-body, which seats about 294 passengers, has aerodynamic enhancements that allow increased range and reduced fuel consumption.

"The A330-800neo is an aircraft which meets all of our needs," said Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. "It is the right size, with the right range and costs, and shares much commonality with our A330-200 fleet.

"Our customers and crew love the aircraft and we are thrilled that it will continue to be Hawaiian’s wide-body mainstay for far into the future."

This latest expansion adds to Hawaiian Airlines’ existing orders, which include three new A330-200s for delivery in 2015 and 16 narrow-body A321neo aircraft starting in 2017.