Hawaiian Airlines Gambles on Big New Business Class Cabin
Photo Credit: An Adient Aerospace business class seat. Adient Aerospace
Skift Take
Hawaiian Airlines is late to the lie-flat seat game, but its new Boeing 787s will have 34 beds in the front of the aircraft. Why? The airline thinks leisure travelers, especially from Japan, will pony up when travel restrictions ease and they resume vacations to Hawaii again.
Hawaiian Airlines historically has been conservative with premium cabins, installing outdated products and adding fewer seats than competitors. But the carrier is making a big bet on flat-bed seats for its new Boeing 787s as it emerges from the pandemic, its chief operating officer said.
Hawaiian is putting 34 flatbed business class suites on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft, the first of which will arrive late next year. That's almost twice as many as on the airline's Airbus A330s, the carrier's current long-haul workhorse. Overall, the 787s will have 301 seats, or 23 more than the A330s.
In bulking up, and significantly improving, the business class cabin, Hawaiian is following an industry-wide trend. Once, only business-centric carriers in major hubs installed opulent front-cabin flatbeds. But in recent years, leisure carriers have followed, with airlines like Fiji Airways, Air Europa and Air Tahiti Nui raising their standards. Retirees and honeymooners, among others, have proved willing to pay.
The trend is expected to continue in 2022 and beyond. Several U.S. carriers, included United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, have said on recent earnings calls that premium leisure is among their fastest growing segments. Travelers have been cooped up for almost two years, and they're willing to pay more for space and comfort.
Hawaiian is looking for a bigger slice of this segment on its longest routes. Before the pandemic, Hawaiian maintained a
