Hawaiian Airlines parks two A321neo due to engine issues

Photo: Duncan Stewart - LAX

Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) has parked two A321-200Ns due to engine maintenance events and supply chain constraints that have affected its ability to replace the powerplants, Hawaiian Holdings Chief Executive Peter Ingram said during the carrier's annual earnings call.

"We have encountered constraints on the availability of A321 engines, for which the Pratt & Whitney MRO supply chain has been unable to keep pace. Most recently, this has resulted in two of our eighteen A321neo being grounded for an extended period awaiting available serviceable engines... I've talked a couple of times about some risk to aircraft availability, not so much around aircraft deliveries, but it's the supply chain for spare engines, particularly on the A321 where we know we're already running short," he said.

N220HA (msn 8872) has been parked at Oakland since November 21, 2022, while N226HA (msn 9127) has not left Honolulu since December 28, 2022. The remaining sixteen A321neo remain active, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The grounding has thus far resulted in a limited operational impact, as the airline has been able to shift some A321neo routes to its A330-200s. Chief Revenue Officer Brent Overbeek explained that this was driven by the slower-than-expected recovery of the Japanese market, where the widebodies are usually deployed.

"While that allows us to maintain service in well-performing mainland markets, we're not optimised on gauge, and that will have an unfavourable impact on first quarter 2023 RASM. We continue to work with Pratt & Whitney and anticipate improvement in the quarters ahead," Overbeek said.

The airline has yet to decide on a retirement schedule for its A330-200s. Hawaiian Airlines recently increased its firm B787-9 commitments from ten to 12 units, while concurrently deferring deliveries, the first of which is now expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.

"The B787 delivery schedule will provide flexibility in our growth rate as we decide whether to extend or return A330s when leases expire. Our next four A330 lease expirations occur in 2024," Chief Financial Officer Shannon Okinaka said.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Hawaiian Airlines operates twenty-four A330-200s, which are 9.7 years old on average. The aircraft are equally split between owned and leased units. The latter are sourced from ORIX Aviation (three), Air Lease Corporation, Jackson Square Aviation, Macquarie AirFinance (two each), Avolon, Doric Asset Finance, Goshawk (one each), according to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module.

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