(photo Courtesy of Ryan Ozawa http://www.hawaiiweblog.com/)

Hawaiian Airlines today welcomed its fleet of the future to Hawaii – its first new, long-range Airbus A330-200 aircraft that will set the company’s course for growth and expansion.

The wide-body, 294-seat A330 touched down at Honolulu International Airport at 10:49 a.m. Piloted by Captain Robert Mix and Captain Mark Dawson, the 13-member flight crew was greeted by Hawaiian Airlines employees with fresh flower lei, Hawaiian music, and hula.

"The A330 handled beautifully all the way here and it was an honor for me and Captain Dawson to bring Hawaiian’s newest jet home to Hawaii," said Captain Mix. "I believe our customers are going to be very happy flying in this brand new aircraft."

Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO who was among a crowd of employees greeting the plane’s arrival, said, "What a special moment for all of us at Hawaiian, to see more than three years’ planning and coordination come to fruition. This first A330 heralds a new era for Hawaiian, one of growth and new services for our customers."

Hawaiian’s new A330 is scheduled to begin service on Friday, June 4, as Flight #2, departing Honolulu at 1:15 p.m. for Los Angeles.

Hawaiian Airlines took possession of the A330 on April 28 in a Hawaii-themed acceptance ceremony at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France attended by more than 200 Hawaiian Airlines employees and their guests. The aircraft was flown nonstop from Toulouse to Seattle on April 30 for scheduled modification work before making its flight into Honolulu this morning.

Hawaiian Airlines plans to introduce up to 27 new Airbus aircraft into its fleet by the end of this decade. Hawaiian Airlines is leasing three A330s that are joining the fleet this year, and has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus to acquire seven A330s (starting in 2011) and six A350XWB-800 (Extra Wide-Body) aircraft (starting in 2017), as well as purchase rights for an additional five A330s and six A350s

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Hawaiian Airlines once again has claimed the top spot for on-time performance and customer satisfaction from a national survey that ranks airlines. The survey, called the airline quality report, says that Hawaiian Airlines was the top performer among the nations 18 largest carriers in 2009. This is the second year in a row for the airline in this survey.

The survey gave Hawaiian Airlines a overall score of 92.1% for performance and rated the carrier second-best for both denied boarding performance and mishandled baggage. Additionally, there were less complaints about Hawaiian Airlines than other airlines as compared to the industry average with a rate of 0.74 as compared to 0.97 which is the average for the industry.

According to the survey, for the second consecutive year, the performance of the nation’s leading carriers improved. It was the third best overall score in the 19 years researchers have tracked the performance of airlines.The national Airline Quality Rating is the premier statistical study of major airline performance in the United States.

The AQR is conducted jointly by Dr. Dean Headley, professor at Wichita State University and Dr. Brent Bowen, professor at Purdue University.

Below is the 2010 numerical ranking of the nation’s leading 18 airlines, according to the Airline Quality Rating, with the 2009 ranking in parentheses:

1.     Hawaiian (1)
2.     AirTran (2)
3.     JetBlue (3
4.     Northwest (4)
5.     Southwest (6
6.     Continental (8)
7.     Frontier (7)
8.     US Airways (10)
9.     American (9)
10.   ExpressJet (not ranked in 2009 report)
11.   Alaska (5)
12.   Mesa (14)
13.   United (11)
14.   SkyWest (13)
15.   Delta (12)
16.   Comair (15)
17.   Atlantic Southeast (17)
18.   American Eagle (16)

Posted by Bruce Fisher follow me on twitter @alohabruce

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Responding to the demand for more flights to Hawaii, United Airlines has announced today that starting June 9 the carrier will add a nonstop flight from Chicago to Maui. This will make two nonstop flights coming from Chicago to Hawaii. The new service will run through August 30. No prices have been announced.

This is great news for the tourism industry in Hawaii which has seen an increase in visitor arrivals already this year. Demand for the summer is obviously growing, Hawaiian Airlines just announced the other day that they too are adding flights from the West Coast in June.

Even with this extra added airlift, if you’re planning a summer vacation now’s the time to do it. Summer months are usually the busiest time of year in Hawaii so it’s best to plan in advance. Hawaii Aloha Travel has packages that allow you to put a small deposit down to lock in a package so that you don’t miss out. Give us a call at 1-800-843-8771 and any agent can help you.

Posted by Bruce Fisher

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

We blogged a few weeks ago about a  Indianapolis-based Republic Airways was planning to form a partnership with Kailua-Kona-based Mokulele Airlines in order to provide more passenger seats for Hawaii’s interisland travelers and to create competition for Hawaiian Airlines in the market.

Well, they’ve done it, spurring hopes for lower fares and more options.  Starting November 19th, Mokulele will begin flying 14 flights a day between Honolulu and Lihue, Kauai, and between Honolulu and Kailua, Kona, using 70-seat Embraer E170 jets operated by Republic.  Service to Maui and Hilo is to start in January.

Republic Airways also will provide $150 million in financing, which will include a line of credit and spare engine parts for the new service.

It’s expected that some 200 of the employees who were laid off when Aloha Airlines folded will now be hired by Mokulele.

If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii, this could be good news for you, too.  Maybe prices will be more favorable for interisland travel, and we now have more options for booking convenient travel arrangements for you.

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

This Weeks Hawaii Vacation News:

• Dole Plantation Maze
• Hawaiian Airlines Cut Costs
• Try A Glider!
• Falls Of Clyde

Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.