Hawaiian Airlines has temporarily suspended its nonstop service between Honolulu and its Australia and New Zealand gateways, but at any given time, at least 52 aircraft in Hawaiian’s 61-jet fleet rest on Honolulu’s tarmac, ready to roll and waiting for the moment HA can fly again and reconnect Hawai‘i to the world.
Right now, Hawaiian Airlines is strictly observing US quarantine restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hawaiian will keep its fleet parked and ready for takeoff for months to come. All parked planes continue to get plenty of care from Hawaiian’s mechanics. A roughly 500-person maintenance team – from mechanics to engineers and supply agents – has been working around the clock to properly service all aircraft and keep the fleet in flying shape to resume full network service as soon as that is again possible.
“Working during this COVID-19 pandemic is surreal,” Brandon Ho, line aircraft mechanic at Hawaiian, told a company publication.
“Every day we come to work, we see nearly the entire fleet of aircraft grounded. Regardless, we still show up to work and do our job to assure the planes are fit to fly when the time comes.”
Hawaiian Airlines planes on the tarmac at Honolulu last week. Photo by Marissa Villegas
The airline’s transpacific routes now include one daily non-stop flight between Honolulu (HNL) and San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX). Three 24 long-haul wide-body Airbus A330s are taking turns operating these two routes, while the remaining aircraft receive ongoing service. Hawaiian also deploys A330s on once-weekly nonstop flights connecting HNL and Pago Pago in American Samoa; however, the airline has suspended this service through at least 23 April at the request of the US territory government as it seeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Hawaiian’s current fleet of 17 A321neos, the mid-range narrow-body aircraft that serves smaller US West Coast markets, are all parked. The airline is rotating through its Neighbor Island passenger fleet of 20 Boeing 717s to keep all aircraft running. The ‘Ohana by Hawaiian operations are following a similar process with two of the ATR 42 passenger aircraft serving the more rural communities of Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i, as well as the all-cargo ATR 72 fleet moving products between the islands.
Hawaiian’s maintenance teams are working day and night at the carrier’s Honolulu hub and destination stations to ensure planes remain fine-tuned and ready to fly.
In more normal times, Hawaiian Airlines approaches Honolulu
Hawaiian Airlines is also encouraging Aussies, Kiwis and the trade to keep an eye on the airline’s COVID-19 hub for updates about HA. The site is constantly updated with future schedules, latest waiver policies, FAQs and information on the company’s response to the pandemic.
Edited by Peter Needham
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