Hawaiian Airlines’ First Boeing 787-9 Sighted at Seattle’s Paine Field Airport

Hawaiian Airlines’ highly anticipated first Boeing 787-9, registered as N780HA, has finally emerged from its long-term storage at Kelly Field (SKF), San Antonio, Texas. On July 29, 2023, the aircraft left SKF and arrived at Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE) on the same day, where aviation enthusiasts eagerly captured its presence.

Originally stored at the Texan airport since June 2021, shortly after its inaugural flight on June 18, 2021, the aircraft was subject to delayed deliveries due to a series of events. In December 2022, Hawaiian Airlines exercised its options for two additional 787s, expanding its original order of 10 jets of this type. Boeing was initially scheduled to hand over the entire dozen by 2027, but the first deliveries were deferred to Q4 2023.

Recent news from Hawaiian Airlines’ Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Q2 2023 report filing revealed that Boeing informed the airline of further delays in the deliveries of the 787s scheduled for 2023 and 2024. The report stated that these deliveries would be postponed by a few months.

As a result of these delays, the anticipated delivery of Hawaiian Airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 is now expected to take place in January 2024. The airline remains committed to owning both aircraft of this type by June 30, 2023, and is exploring various financing options to cover the expenses associated with the purchase of the 787 Dreamliners and related costs.

“We received notification from Boeing that our first 787 delivery will be slightly delayed from November of this year to January next year, and will also impact our remaining 2024 deliveries. This delay will move some CapEx from 2023 to 2024 so we now believe our CapEx for this year will be about USD280 million,” Chief Financial Officer Shannon Okinaka said during the quarterly investor call.

The carrier’s order extends to a total of 12 aircraft, each powered by General Electric (GE) GEnx engines. To ensure operational efficiency and security, the airline has also ordered three spare engines with an option to acquire another one, with delivery dates aligning with those of the dozen Boeing 787s.”