Hawaiian Air Opts for Boeing Dreamliners in Blow to Airbus A330

(Bloomberg) -- Hawaiian Holdings Inc. handed Boeing Co. a victory by selecting 10 of the planemaker's 787 Dreamliners and canceling a deal for a competing model from Airbus SE.

The airline signed a non-binding letter of intent for the Boeing 787-9 jets in a deal valued at $2.82 billion at list prices, passing over Airbus's A330. Hawaiian expects to use the planes for flights to Asia and long-haul service to the U.S., spokesman Alex Da Silva said Tuesday.

Hawaiian originally had ordered six of Airbus's A330-800 model before canceling that deal and considering the Dreamliner and the A330-900 for its long-haul needs, Da Silva said. 

The first Dreamliner delivery is expected in early 2021, Hawaiian said in a statement, confirming earlier reports that it would switch to the Boeing plane. The airline has purchase rights for another 10 of the long-distance jetliner.

“The Dreamliner combines excellent comfort for our guests with fantastic operational performance, and will allow us to continue modernizing our fleet into the next decade,” Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram said in the statement.

The company expects to sign binding agreements with Boeing and General Electric Co. in the second quarter of this year. Hawaiian has chosen GE's GEnx engine to power the aircraft.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Sasso in Atlanta at msasso9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren

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