As United Airlines seeks to balance its operational needs with a desire to continue its Polaris retrofit program, a Boeing 767-400 bottleneck has led to problems for United’s nonstop service between Newark and Honolulu.
767-400 Shortage Impacts Newark – Honolulu Route On United Airlines
First noticed by aviation-insider JonNYC, United Airlines has cancelled it nonstop flights between Newark (EWR) and Honolulu (HNL) for multiple days, starting tomorrow (June 18, 2023).
UA: “So, UA sent too/so many 767-400s to asia for polaris retrofit that they’ve now ran out of 764s to use and had to end up canceling EWR-HNL from the 18th until at least the 21st so far, with a possibility of an ‘extension’”
— 🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) June 14, 2023
The flights have not yet been cancelled after June 20, 2023…however all space has been zeroed out for the next 10 days. In essence, the flight is still on the schedule, but in anticipation that it may cancel, United if not selling any more seats on it.
We also reached out to one of our contacts at United Airlines and without elaboration, a memo was forwarded to us which explained:
There will be a small number of close-in flight cancellations implemented due to limited aircraft availability. The routes will vary, and, in most cases, there will be alternate routing options available for customers.
United is in the midst of retrofitting its 767-400 fleet. During the pandemic, the issue of whether this aircraft would even return to the active fleet was an open question, but buoyed by strong demand this aircraft is not only flying again but undergoing a Polaris retrofit as the last sub-fleet to feature United’s last-generation seats.
The retrofit is completed in Mainland China and it is not clear what led to the equipment shortage, though it would not surprise us if some of the older 767-300 jets used for European travel are encountering maintenance issues requiring aircraft swaps.
CONCLUSION
If you are traveling between Honolulu and Newark nonstop on United Airlines over the next several days, you may end up having to connect through a different city. Ostensibly due to an aircraft shortage, the popular nonstop flights between the two cities have been either cancelled or zeroed out for the next several days.
Hopefully this issue with UA362 and UA363 is not a sign of operational difficulties to come in what is shaping up to be a very busy summer of travel.
> Read More: United Airlines 767-400 Business Class Newark – Honolulu Review
That’s pretty bad. They pulled the iAd-hmm from the summer schedule a few months ago so they wouldn’t have to do close in cancels. Bummer
Should say iAd-hnl
If it were a “key” flight, UA would find other equipment and cancel a less important flight. But this is the least important of the EWR long-hauls: from the East Coast, HNL is a vanity, leisure route, not vital to any corporate contract, to an airport in a state (Hawaii) that is capricious about whether it wants to promote tourism or not, that utilizes high crew time in an era of many limited resources. If it were so vital to the NYC area, AA/B6 would have included JFK-HNL in the failed joint venture. HNL is NOT a key route from the East Coast. It is expendable. Now, HNL *is* a key route from LAX and SFO, and look – those flights operate multiple times a day, and even WN had to get in on the action of west coast-HNL! But to refute the title of this article, EWR-HNL is *not* key to anything
It is hardly a “vanity” route or an “expendable” one, but demand to Hawaii from the East Coast, in late Spring and early Summer is probably not as strong. EWR-HNL has operated since 1997. It is very much a “key” route, as it is just one of a handful from the East Coast.
Oh it is by definition expendable since United has decided to stop operating the route in the short term. If it were so “key” and necessary – then cancel just one of the LHR sections and send that equipment to HNL instead. Oh wait, LHR is SO much more important and HNL IS expendable from EWR. HNL IS important from the West Coast, but not from the East. United has to decide which flight it cannot operate from EWR because the frames aren’t there. HNL did not draw the short straw randomly!
Such a know-it-all. Just chill and keep your opinions to yourself because others may not care, most of the time.
The older 767-300s also have an ongoing retrofit program of their own to install Premium Plus. Currently, N649UA is in Hong Kong and N648UA is the last 763 flying without Premium Plus. N66051 is also the sole 764 flying with the old cabin. Add to that, the 757-200s are getting retrofitted and NEXT retrofits are starting.
The 767s in general have been not great lately
I am to take EWR – HNL on Aug 13, Hopefully it is reinstatated by then. I always pay a premium to take this flight since it is a nonestop. I would consider taking Hawaiin , however they fly of JFK which is real pain to get to from here in Jersey.
My EWR-HNL for Aug 16th was cancelled yesterday. They wouldn’t give me a reason other than that route is no longer operating.
I just found out they reschedule you but don’t have to compensate you for the cheaper connecting flights. Book an expensive non-stop flight and then rebook you on cheaper flights and keep the extra money.
They’ve now removed UA362/363 from sale once again – availability is back starting 29SEP. Yet notifications of cancellation haven’t come through yet. So infuriating – I have four r/t between now and the end of Sep to HNL.