Fleet Modernization Ongoing fleet investment is critical to reducing our emissions. In December 2022, we entered into a supplemental agreement with Boeing to finalize the delivery schedule of our initial 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, and committed to two additional aircraft, bringing our total firm order to 12. We expect to take delivery of our first Boeing 787-9 in the fourth quarter of 2023, and begin operating the aircraft early next year, with additional deliveries through 2027. The Boeing 787-9 features innovative aerodynamics, modern engines and a composite airframe contributing to an approximately 20% fuel-efficiency improvement over prior-generation, similarly sized aircraft. Our long-haul fleet of Airbus A330s and A321neos is one of the most fuel efficient and youngest in the U.S. industry at an average age of 7.2 years. We continue to use Airbus A330-200 aircraft – which are about 5% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767-300, our previous widebody fleet type – on our transpacific long-haul, U.S. east coast, and busiest western U.S. routes, and the A321neo – the most fuel efficient and quietest aircraft of its type – to serve our mid-sized U.S. transpacific markets. In 2022, our fuel efficiency per ASM was 2% better than 2019, and we are targeting a 4% improvement in fuel efficiency per ASM compared to 2019 due to the impact of our Boeing 787s and other fuel efficiency initiatives by 2028.
Next-Generation Aircraft Technologies We continue to engage with airframe and aircraft engine manufacturers to evaluate new low-carbon technologies that may become available over our planning horizon. There are several emerging alternative propulsion technologies, such as battery-electric and hydrogen, that have the potential to contribute to our decarbonization goals. The first advances in these technologies will likely be in the nine to 19-seat range for short-haul flights later this decade. At Hawaiian, while we have a robust network of short-haul flights within the Hawaiian Islands that could be suited for these emerging technologies, these short-haul markets see very high traffic volumes. We currently operate about 150 daily flights between the islands with 19 128-seat Boeing 717s and it would be inefficient to operate the same capacity with significantly smaller aircraft. Based on industry forecasts, we expect it will take 10 to 15-plus years before these technologies advance to allow for more than 100 passengers to travel over interisland distances on a batteryelectric or hydrogen aircraft.
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