Hawaiian Airlines schedules Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flights between Honolulu & New York-JFK

US carrier Hawaiian Airlines will deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its second-longest domestic route. The airline will use the Dreamliner to replace its older Airbus widebody on the route this year, with the first flights taking off in April.

Hawaiian Airlines is expected to use one of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on the service, which is currently operated by an Airbus A330-300.

The schedule change was first reported by Ishrion Aviation and confirmed with airline scheduling data from Cirium. It indicates that the carrier expects to receive its third Dreamliner before the route begins in April.

The aircraft is scheduled to operate from April 22nd through August 20th, 2025. The flights depart Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in the afternoon, flying overnight to arrive in New York City the following morning.

The return leg from New York JFK Airport to Hawaii departs in the morning and arrives in Honolulu in the early afternoon.

Hawaiian's Dreamliners are configured to seat 300 passengers. The new aircraft is the only one to feature Hawiian's Leihōkū (meaning “lei of stars” in Hawaiian) Buisness Class product, configured to give each of the 34 passengers direct aisle access. The remaining 266 seats are in the economy section, which is split between Extra Comfort and Main Cabin.

The airline introduced the Dreamliner to its route network last year, with the initial routes including Los Angeles (LAX) and Phoenix (PHX).

My previously revealed that the carrier would phase out its Dreamliner service to Phoenix, with the aircraft moving to boost Hawaiian's existing Los Angeles service to a double-daily 787 operation.

The airline has 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners on order, and it originally expected to receive its third model last year. The remaining deliveries will gradually occur through 2027.

Following its recent merger with Alaska Airlines, the combined group announced that the 787 would be used to position Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) as Alaska's Global Gateway, with flights to South Korea and Japan.

Hawaiian Airlines currently operates the 4,983-mile route using its Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The plane seats slightly fewer passengers than the Dreamliner, with 18 seats in first class and the remaining 260 in economy.

The carrier began serving New York City in June 2012, with the Hawaii-bound leg of the journey carrying the iconic flight number 50 for a touch of "Hawaiian 5-0". The launch marked a significant expansion of Hawaiian's partnership with JetBlue.

The agreement, which continues to this day, allows frequent flyers from either airline to book flights from across the respective carrier's network and increase the number of available connections.

The new flights will continue to operate daily on the same schedule, which was timed to maximize visitors' time in Hawaii, landing in time to check into hotels or to make easy connections to the islands of Maui, Kaua'i, or Hawai'i, the Big Island.

The afternoon return to New York, leaving late enough to facilitate inbound connections or a leisurely final morning on the beach.

The airline faces limited competition on the nonstop link. SkyTeam Alliance carrier Delta Air Lines also operates from New York JFK to Honolulu.

The airline's daily Boeing 767-300 flights depart New York City earlier in the morning and leave from Hawaii later in the afternoon to arrive back in New York shortly after 09:00 the following morning.

Star Alliance carrier United Airlines currently operates a daily Boeing 767 flight from its hub at nearby Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). However, the route is presently scheduled to end on April 20th, 2025.