Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) may swap its current order for six A350-800s for the A330neo, Airbus' rumoured upgraded and improved version of its successful A330 widebody. The smallest of the A350 Family of aircraft, the -800 has seen its order book dwindle in recent months with previous orders having now been converted into the larger A350-900.
"We have always thought that the A350-800 had the right economics and range for our future growth," a spokeswoman told Reuters. "Since that aircraft may not be produced we are evaluating our options. The A330neo may be an alternative to the A350-800, though today we have not had the opportunity for a full assessment of the aircraft or the other alternatives."
Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) is expected to drop the A350-800 in favour of the new A330neo programme during the ongoing Farnborough Airshow.
The A330-800neo and A330-900neo will be upgraded versions of the A330-200 and A330-300 respectively and will feature improvements in both aircraft cabin design and performance.
Quoting anonymous airline officials which have been briefed on the line's new specifications, Reuters says the A330neo will have between 252 and 306 seats, slightly more than the Boeing B787-8 or B787-9, and 10 more than the current A330. In terms of performance, the smaller version of A330neo will have the same range as the Boeing 787-8, while the larger variant will lag the 787-9 by 1,000 miles.
The aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce's planned new motor, the Trent 7000, a derivative of the Trent 1000, which it developed for the Boeing (BOE, Washington National) B787 series.
