BY JAMES WILKINSON
Hawaiian Airlines is set to introduce brand new, wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft on flights from Sydney to Honolulu a month earlier than planned.
The Honolulu-based airline will introduce the 294-seat aircraft – that offer 30 more seats than the Boeing 767-300ER jets that currently fly on the route – on Wednesday April 25.
Hawaiian’s General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Australia, Sherilyn Robinson, said the upgauge in aircraft would mean an additional 11,000 seats per year on the route.
“The Airbus A330 is the new flagship aircraft type for Hawaiian Airlines and we are excited that it will now operate to Sydney,” she said.
“As well as delivering a new standard of in-flight service for our customers, the A330 will deliver more seats to the Sydney-Honolulu route at a time when extra capacity is needed to meet increasing demand for holiday and group travel.”
In a massive upgrade in technology compared to what’s currently on offer, Hawaiian’s new Airbus A330s feature on-demand entertainment in every seat, with LCD touch-screen TVs that are loaded with movies, TV shows and games.
Passengers in both Business and Economy class also receive complimentary meals and beverages, along with two checked bags weighing up to 32kg each.
Hawaiian is also planning to offer Airbus A330s to New York from June 4, 2012, when daily non-stop flights launch on the route. New York is one of 11 United States mainland destinations on the airline’s route map alongside Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, San Diego and Phoenix.