Hawaiian Airlines new Airbus A330-200 aircraft joins fleet

Hawaiian Airlines recently announced that its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft named Hokupa‘a has joined its fleet. The aircraft made its debut with its inaugural flight to Honolulu from Los Angeles on October 9, 2011 carrying 293 passengers on board.

The airline said that the new aircraft is the fifth A330-200 to be included in Hawaiian Airline’s fleet since June 2010. The new addition also coincides with the expansion of the airline’s network into Asia as well as upgraded service on its most popular routes in North America.  

The new aircraft has been named Hokupa‘a, which is the Hawaiian language name for Polaris or the North Star. All the new Airbus A330-200s joining Hawaiian Airline’s fleet have been named after a star or constellation used by Polynesian voyagers for celestial navigation.

Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said that the airline’s growth strategy is on schedule, and with the addition of new Airbus A330-200s into the fleet, the airline has been able to expand its global network as well as boost the tourism economy of Hawaii Islands.

Dunkerley also disclosed that the demand for Hawaii Airlines is mostly strong in the Asia-Pacific region and the airline is accordingly focusing more on the growth here. He also said that three new Asia routes were recently introduced over an 8-month period. From December this year, flights to Sydney will become daily. The airline is also introducing flights to Fukuoka in Japan from April 2012.