Hawaiian Airlines is making an interisland push with three additional Boeing 717s being leased from Boeing Capital to support 20 additional flights in October.

Hawaiian signed multi-year leases on the aircraft, which are duel for delivery in September, October and November.

The additional 717s allow Hawaiian to "expand its interisland service between Honolulu and Kahului, Lihue, Hilo, and Kona during peak travel periods" while also improving "its industry-leading operational reliability".

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"With our increasing service to Hawaii from Asia, demand for our interisland flights during peak hours of the day and during popular travel periods has never been higher. Adding these aircraft will give us the ability to serve more customers during these periods," said Hawaiian president and CEO Mark Dunkerley.

To support the expanded interisland service Hawaiian plans to hire 40-50 new flight attendants, ground staff and pilots.

In addition to the three new leases, Hawaiian purchased its existing 15 717s "in a refinancing transaction that reduces its fleet costs over the long term", said Hawaiian.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news