Hawaiian Airlines has announced that it’s been forced to ground several of its Airbus A321neos.
It’s been reported that five of their A321neos had been impacted by the grounding. Per Cirium fleet data, the airline currently has three A321neos parked up. In service are 15.
The Pratt and Whitney GTF engines have specifically hit these Airbus A321neos. While resulting in a grounding of Hawaiian’s A321neos, these also affect other operators, such as Spirit, with their GTF-powered A320neo.
Last week, Air New Zealand reported grounding of two Airbus A321neos due to a global engine shortage.
Hawaiian Airlines, who recorded their Q1 results today, said that the groundings impacted their overall operations. While parking planes results in fewer funds being spent on fuel, it does affect their broad network.
Hawaiian Airlines said they were forced to substitute their much larger A330 on routes operated by the A321neo. As a result, on some routes flown by the A321neo, an A330 is not as efficient.
The carrier says that fuel consumption due to this was up 21.4% compared to the first quarter of 2022.
While the grounding of A321neos impacted their operations, the airline also says that runway construction at Daniel K. Inouye, the airline’s home, meant delays were seen. This even stretched as far as air traffic control protocols. As a result, their on-time performance was also affected.
