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.

We are also acting as design partner for REGENT’s larger, 100-plus seat vehicle concept (rendered below), which is slated to be introduced some time after the launch of its smaller 12-seat vehicle. A seaglider is a vehicle that would operate out of harbor infrastructure instead of airports and uses ‘ground effect’ by flying within a wingspan of the sea. The potential for ground effect could allow for battery-electric powered operations with much larger capacity over the distances between the islands compared to other emerging electric alternatives. While REGENT is still in the early stages of development of its smaller vehicle, we are excited to support the technology through our equity investment and we look forward to evaluating the technology and infrastructure requirements further.

While these emerging technologies may allow us to serve our interisland routes and reduce our emissions, they are not expected to be viable on our North America or International routes before 2050. Our roadmap contemplates a next-generation airplane with jet engine technology that incorporates a meaningful efficiency improvement compared to existing generation aircraft arriving in the late 2040s.