U.S. planemaker Boeing has snared a Hawaiian Airlines order for widebody long-haul jets from European rival Airbus, the carrier announced on Tuesday, in a striking blow to Airbus amid dwindling widebody sales.
Hawaiian said it had placed an order for 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with the first expected to arrive in 2021. The carrier dropped an earlier order of Airbus A330neos to go with the Boeing series.
"We ran a competitive process between two great aircraft types. It was a complex decision that factored in many aspects of aircraft capability, passenger experience, fleet complexity and the total lifetime cost of ownership, and the 787 came out on top," Hawaiian spokesman Alex Da Silva said.
Airbus is under mounting pressure to defend its A330neo jet against the Boeing 787, with American Airlines also expected to announce a decision soon on a potential order for 25-30 wide-body jets, industry sources said earlier.