Hawaiian Airlines has been on a fast growth track over the last two years with new service to Asia, Oceania, North America and the neighbor islands.
President and CEO Mark Dunkerley doesn’t see the state’s largest carrier slowing down any time soon.
"We clearly believe that we’re expanding at a rate that the market justifies," Dunkerley said in an interview Tuesday after parent company Hawaiian Holdings Inc. reported a $3.9 million profit in the second quarter.
SECOND-QUARTER NET
$3.9 million
YEAR-EARLIER LOSS
$50 million |
Hawaiian, which during the April-June period launched service to Fukuoka, Japan, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, still has three more previously announced routes yet to begin. It will begin flying to Sapporo, Japan, on Oct. 30; Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 27; and Auckland, New Zealand, on March 13. Dunkerley said Hawaiian probably will announce one or two more new routes by the end of this year for next year’s summer schedule.
Hawaiian’s success shows that it’s cherry-picking the right markets, said airline analyst Bob McAdoo.
"They continue to find markets which have been performing quite well," said McAdoo, of Los Angeles-based investment bank Imperial Capital. "Everything seems to have worked out. Their batting average has been very good."
Hawaiian on Tuesday reported its 13th profitable quarter in the last 14. The airline saw revenue jump 23 percent to $484.6 million in the second quarter. Average cost per gallon of jet fuel decreased 4.8 percent to $3.18 from $3.34 a year ago.
In the second quarter of 2011, Hawaiian reported a $50 million loss, its only losing quarter since the start of 2009. That loss primarily was due to a $70 million charge Hawaiian took after purchasing 15 Boeing 717-200 interisland aircraft that it had been leasing.
The earnings per share last quarter was 7 cents compared with a loss of 99 cents a year ago.
Excluding fuel-hedging activities, Hawaiian’s adjusted net income last quarter was $11.7 million, or 22 cents a share. That beat analysts’ forecast of 17 cents a share. Fuel hedging is a strategy that allows Hawaiian to buy fuel at a set price to lock in the cost and guard against possible future price spikes.
The interisland market continues to be the weak link of Hawaiian’s three market segments, which also include international and North America, Dunkerley said.
"Our international markets performed extremely well. Our North American routes performed well, and our neighbor island business was still fairly weak, but it was less weak than it had been three months previously," he said. "It’s weak for a couple of reasons. More direct flying from the U.S. mainland to neighbor islands reduces the demand for neighbor island flights. And the improvements in infrastructure in the neighbor islands reduces the need for people to travel to Oahu."
Slightly less than a quarter of Hawaiian’s revenue comes from its interisland operations, with just under 50 percent from mainland routes and about 30 percent from international flying, Dunkerley said.
Hawaiian said last week it intends to bolster its interisland market with the formation of a turboprop subsidiary that would fly to smaller airports such as Kapalua, Maui; Lanai; and Molokai. Dunkerley said Tuesday that it won’t be operational until sometime next year.
Dunkerley said part of the reason he’s launching a turboprop service is because he sees an opportunity in the market.
"Frankly, we are in a situation where we believe that the existing operators don’t deliver an adequate level of service. … This is going to be a very small operation but nonetheless one which we think … allows us to fill a puka in our network."
He said the code-share Hawaiian currently has with Island Air, the largest turboprop operator in the state, "will be reviewed in light of our plans." Code-shares allow airlines to sell each other’s tickets.
Island Air owner Charles Willis wasn’t too pleased about Hawaiian’s plan to set up a turboprop service.
"We’ve had a good working relationship with Hawaiian Airlines, the market-dominant player. It has sold seats on our aircraft … through a code-share agreement. Now, it seems Hawaiian wants to take even more of the local market segment," Willis said in a commentary published Sunday in the Star-Advertiser.
Hawaiian’s stock slipped 11 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $6.03 Tuesday on the Nasdaq. The company’s earnings were reported after the market closed.
