A regular A321 with the big motors and aux tanks can do Hawaii to the west coast no problem as long as the airports aren't performance limited (like PHX). They do coast to coast trans-cons all day without problems and those are just as long of flights.

So I'd think a neo with the sharklets should be a pretty safe bet.

 

It floats. Particularly if the tanks are empty.

 

Per the press release: "At 146-feet-long, the A321neo will seat approximately 190 passengers in a two-class configuration (First and Coach) and has a range of 3,650 nautical miles."

 

The current era 321's will do trans cons all day long as long as there are no winds and no alternates required. Throw in some winds or an alternate and you're stopping for fuel. It's great for flights about the length of the NYC-Florida markets, but anything longer than that, it is POS.

Now, put some NEO's on it and some sharklets and I think you have a viable trans-con and Hawaii west coast airplane.

 

I'm really curious, too about those numbers on the 321 NEO. When I flew the 757 we had many 6 hour plus days out to the islands, 7 hours a few times to LIH. Now I know HI is just doing west coast routes but that's pushing it for a 321. Also, you are limited to FL 320 for a while going out so heavy. There may be congestion on the tracks with a bunch of 321s sitting down so low. The 757s and 767s and the larger jets can all go a lot higher.

 

Curious to see how the 321 NEO compares performance-wise to the straight 321...

 

Agreed. Hopefully it can go high too though.

 

I'm pretty positive HA just bought some without doing any actual research...... Especially crossing the Pacific... Probably not a concern from an operational standpoint....

If you mean alot higher as in Fl36-390...then sure I guess.

 

It will do what they bought it to do. The one interesting point is that the airplane will have to be ETOPS certified right out of the box....with new motors! Not sure if these are completely new engines or if they're derivitives...

 

I think the main purpose of these aircraft will be to compete and take back some of the market from Alaska. They've been increasing their direct service to the smaller airports in Hawaii, avoiding the major hubs. They do this in ETOPS certified 738s.

HAL can't compete with ASA using a 767 or A332, so I think the 321 NEO will probably be used just for that - direct thin, secondary-to-secondary Hawaii routes.

But as others have mentioned, I'm not sure the A321 is the best option. I know it is the NEO version, so we won't know until it gets closer to firming the design, but I don't think it will be able to do what the 738 does. ASA makes flap 25 takeoffs out of some of the tighter spots with very short runways - don't know if the 321 can pull that off, I believe it is a bit of a hog at the higher weights.

And as someone already mentioned, the NEO will have geared fans, which is a new technology that throws another very possible failure spot in the power plant department. I remember a stat that said the biggest failure contributor in a Cessna Caravan is the gearbox. I know it does not compare to a jet, but some of that does transfer over, especially for a new unproved design.

So I can't see ETOPS approval being that quick. Then again, after the whole 787 debacle, I'm not too impressed by the FAA's oversight.