Company Watch - Hawaiian Airlines

AirGuide Business, May 11, 2009

New York (AirGuideBusiness - Company Watch) May 10, 2009

Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings earned a $23.5 million profit in the first quarter, reversed from a $19.9 million loss in the year-ago period when it still faced competition from defunct Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines. "The benefits of a significant decline in the price of fuel more than offset the consequences of weaker demand for Hawaii vacations, while several years of diligent cost control in areas of expense that we influence added to the overall results," President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said. Apr 30, 2009

Hawaiian Airlines' revenue climbed 14.9 percent year-over-year to $288.6 million against a 7.5 percent fall in expenses to $252.7 million. Operating profit was $35.9 million compared to a $22 million loss last year. The carrier flew 1.96 billion RPMs during the quarter, up 1.1 percent, on a 4.9 percent increase in capacity to 2.39 billion ASMs. Load factor slid 3.1 points to 81.9 percent. Operating RASM rose 9.5 percent to 12.06 cents while CASM dropped 11.9 percent to 10.56 cents as fuel costs fell 44.9 percent. Unit costs were up 5.9 percent to 8.46 cents excluding fuel. Dunkerley said that short-term bookings "remain robust, albeit at fares lower than last year and lower than in the first quarter." Apr 30, 2009

Hawaiian Airlines is more prepared for current price slashing by the newest competitor in the interisland market than three years ago when Mesa began undercutting fares with the debut of its subsidiary go!. Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley told analysts during a 28 April earnings call that Mokulele Airlines has discounted interisland fares to a low of USD28 "as they struggle to gain a foothold". Although those fares are reminiscent of those offered by go! when it entered the market Dunkerley explains currently, "I just think we [Hawaiian] are in a stronger position. You have to remember when Mesa came in we were at market position parity with Aloha". Apr 27, 2009

Editorial eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For Air Transport & Travel Business Experts contact our Director of Content Aram Gesar eMail: bizintel@AirGuideOnline.com For Advertising and Marketing: advert@AirGuideOnline.com For Custom Content: content@AirGuideOnline.com ISSN 1939-666X - Copyright [c] 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.