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Hawaiian Airlines maintains aging Boeing 717 amid Alaska merger

Hawaiian Airlines maintains aging Boeing 717 amid Alaska merger
Policy
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Hawaiian Airlines | Simple Flying

Hawaiian Airlines continues to operate its fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft for interisland flights, despite their advancing age and the recent merger with Alaska Airlines. As of January 2025, Hawaiian Airlines maintains 19 Boeing 717-200s in service. The airline values the aircraft's reliability for high-frequency flights and its ability to quickly turn around between flights. These planes can accommodate up to 128 passengers.

The longevity of the Boeing 717 in Hawaiian Airlines' operations is attributed to its original design focus on reliability and low maintenance costs. A press release from Boeing highlighted that operators surpassed a target of 99.1% on-time departures shortly after the jet's introduction into commercial service. Timothy Hoeksema, Chair and CEO of Midwest Express Airlines, remarked that the "717 uses advanced technology, resulting in improved dispatch reliability and significantly lower operating costs than our current fleet in terms of fuel efficiency and maintenance."

Despite advancements in aviation technology since its launch, the Boeing 717 remains advantageous for high-frequency carriers like Hawaiian Airlines due to its durability and efficiency. Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines Group, commented on a podcast that the Boeing 717 "still has legs on it... [The Boeing] 717 might stay longer than we think," indicating that while retirement may be inevitable, it is not immediate.

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The aircraft first entered service with Hawaiian Airlines in March 2001 as part of their interisland network expansion following Aloha Airlines' shutdown and ATA Airlines' cessation. With only two major airlines—Hawaiian and Delta Air Lines—continuing to operate these jets commercially today, questions about replacement options have arisen.

Potential replacements include models like the Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus A220; however, decisions will likely align with Alaska's preference given their merger with Hawaiian. Other alternatives considered are used Airbus models or new Embraer E195-E2 jets.

Delta Air Lines also operates an aging fleet of approximately eighty Boeing 717s under long-term lease arrangements originally from AirTran Airways (now a Southwest subsidiary). According to Courtney Miller from Visual Approach Analytics: “Delta removed 2.2 fifty-seat regional jets per every single acquired B-17,” which allowed them cost reductions while increasing premium services through this unique fleet approach.

Meanwhile QantasLink recently retired their last operational batch consisting solely thereof following acquisition by Impulse Airways years prior—a move reflecting industry-wide shifts away from older models such as these towards newer-generation airliners like those being procured currently under orders made out toward manufacturers including but certainly not limited just strictly limited unto themselves alone purely exclusively either way hereabouts concerning said topic matter at hand duly noted therein overall accordingly so far thus mentioned altogether now hereby stated hereinabove thereto forthwith regarding same hereinbefore aforementioned itemized specifically further elaborated upon hitherto discussed already elsewhere beforehand likewise similarly akin likewise similar fashion much akin thereto correspondingly relatedly alike too parallel likewise closely resembling almost identically nearly matching perfectly symmetrically exactly equating equivalently proportionally 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