Hawaiian Airlines will lease four 717-200s from Boeing Capital Corp. to "better meet the needs of Hawaii's interisland travelers" following the shutdown of Aloha Airlines two months ago (ATWOnline, June 3). Two aircraft will enter service in September and others in November and December. HA currently flies 11 -200s and operates 150 daily inter-island flights. In support of its inter-island expansion it has hired 230 additional employees and plans 160 more.

Emirates will receive its first A380 on July 28 at a ceremony in Hamburg. First service will be from Dubai to New York JFK, possibly as early as Aug. 1. At the recent IATA AGM in Istanbul, EK President Tim Clark made waves when he announced that the airline had no plans to reduce flying because of soaring fuel prices and the softening of the market. "We are not cutting back but in fact are looking to expand," he told delegates. The expansion could include the conversion of an order for 10 787-8Fs to the passenger version, according to some observers in Dubai.

The 787 delay is having a "quite dramatic" effect on Royal Jordanian's long-haul growth strategy, Chairman and CEO Samer Majali told ATWOnline at this week's IATA AGM in Istanbul. "The [787] delay hits our strategy," he said, noting that the carrier's regional and mid-haul fleet renewal will be finalized by next year.

Boeing reached a deal with Japan Airlines to equip current and future 777s with Class 3 EFBs following a validation trial that began last year. Two 777s have been operating with the EFBs since June 2007 and JAL expects to take delivery of three EFB-equipped -300ERs this year. Retrofit kit installation will begin in April 2009 and completion is slated for late 2011.

Following in the footsteps of United Airlines and American Airlines, Continental Airlines yesterday became the latest US carrier to announce a major downsizing, revealing plans to retire 67 737s, lower 2008 fourth-quarter mainline domestic capacity by 11% and reduce its workforce by 3,000. In a message to employees, Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner and President Jeff Smisek said, "The airline industry is in a crisis. Its business model doesn't work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace. We need to make changes in response."