Hawaiian Airlines has entered an agreement to fly converted freighters for Amazon Air.
A fleet of ten Airbus A330-200P2F (passenger-to-freighter) conversion aircraft will be operated and maintained by Hawaiian Air on behalf of Amazon starting in 2023.
The aircraft will operated in Amazon Air livery, and will not be owned by Hawaiian Airlines. They will, in fact, be leased by Amazon from lessor Altavair and come from the latest batch of former A330 passenger airliners now finding a new life as freighters.
Hawaiian Airlines is a current A330 passenger operator, and so has the crews and facilities to hand to fly and maintain these aircraft. It is understood, however, that they will be positioned at airports in the continental US rather than in the Hawaiian Islands.
“We’re thrilled to work with Hawaiian Airlines,” said Sarah Rhoads, Vice President, Amazon Global Air. “They will maintain and operate the next generation of aircraft in our fleet, which is a reflection of the excellence they deliver as a renowned airline with their own A330 aircraft.”
Hawaiian – which in 1942 became the first commercial airline to transport scheduled U.S. air cargo with the nation’s first cargo certificate – today carries freight on passenger aircraft across its network of flights within Hawai‘i and between the islands and North America, Asia and Oceania.
