LONDON – This week, Hawaiian Airlines released an SEC filing disclosing the addition of two more Boeing 787 Dreamliners to its firm orderbook.
The original order for 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners by Hawaiian Airlines was made in July 2018.
The Addition of the Two…
According to the SEC filing, the additional two placed on order brings the total count to 12 aircraft in the orderbook on December 30, 2022.
On top of this, a deferral on deliveries has been agreed upon between Hawaiian Airlines and Boeing for the original 10 placed on order.
The aircraft was due to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022, but they will now commence in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will continue until 2027.
One Dreamliner will be delivered to Hawaiian Airlines this year, with three scheduled for next year.
Deliveries Could Get Delayed Again…
The airline said the following in the filing on the delivery timetable:
“The delivery schedule disclosed above represents Hawaiian’s best estimate of the timing of aircraft delivery under the Purchase Agreement and Supplemental Agreement as of the date of this report.”
“Actual delivery dates are subject to change based on various potential factors, including production delays by the manufacturer.”
This means that the airline is potentially expecting further delays in deliveries, especially as production and deliveries of the aircraft have only just restarted again.
Delays with the 787…
Deliveries of the 787 only restarted back in the Summer of 2022 following a series of manufacturing flaws laid out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Dreamliners are a key source of cash for Boeing as the bulk of an aircraft’s price is paid when it’s handed over to customers, though the manufacturer had to compensate buyers for the extensive delays.
Boeing earlier this year said 787 issues, including a drop in production, would cost it $5.5 billion.
On the restart of deliveries, the FAA said the following:
“Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards”.
“The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.”
The FAA said it was “investigating manufacturing defects” in several aircraft already produced. Following two fatal crashes involving the B737 MAX in 2018 (Indonesia) and 2019 (Ethiopia), the FAA pledged to inspect Boeing more closely and delegate fewer of the certification rights the manufacturer had previously received.
Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 after the FAA raised concerns about the proposed inspection method.
The FAA had previously issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for aircraft in service and identified a new problem in July 2021.
Boeing resumed deliveries of Dreamliners in March 2021 after a five-month hiatus before halting them again.
The agency’s administrator at the time, Steve Dickson, told Reuters in February that the FAA needed a “systemic fix in its manufacturing processes” from Boeing.
Overall…
It remains clear that Hawaiian Airlines has significant faith in the Dreamliner program if they are happy to add more aircraft to the orderbook despite delays.
That said, they won’t have much longer to wait until they start receiving such deliveries so that the airline can begin its fleet renewal and potential route expansion.
For now, all eyes will be on Hawaiian Airlines as they excitingly wait for this upcoming milestone.
