Hawaiian Airlines' net income plunges 40 percent
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Airlines' parent company said third-quarter net income dropped more than 40 percent as the carrier continued to struggle with sluggish demand in travel.
Advertiser library photo • March 13, 2001
Hawaiian Holdings Inc. reported net income of $6.4 million, or 23 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with net income of $11.3 million, or 33 cents a share, during the same period a year ago.
Hawaiian Airlines continues "to face serious revenue challenges as a result of sluggish travel demand," the company's chairman, chief executive and president said.
"We continue to face serious revenue challenges as a result of sluggish travel demand," chairman, chief executive and president John Adams said in a statement.
Adams said Hawaiian will be "working to achieve greater levels of labor efficiency through increased productivity or additional staff reductions."
Last year's third-quarter results were helped by $8.5 million in special federal grants for airlines faced with plummeting air travel after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Excluding the special federal assistance, the airline said it would have had net income of $6.7 million for third-quarter 2001.
For the year through Sept. 30, the company said it has lost $43.2 million, compared with earnings of $15.8 million in the same period last year.
"We expect the resulting weak yield and revenue environment that has prevailed throughout 2002 to continue in the current quarter and result in losses for the fourth quarter and full year of 2002," Adams said.
Hawaiian reported operating income of $6.4 million for the quarter, compared with $19.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
Operating revenues were $179.2 million, up $7.7 million, or 4.5 percent. However operating expenses also were up 13.5 percent, to $172.9 million.
The airline said its average load factor decreased 1.7 points to 77.5 percent, because of a 21.1 percent increase in capacity over the same period last year. The airline's revenue passenger miles — which measure paying passengers per mile flown — increased 18.5 percent.
Fuel costs declined $2.2 million because of operating efficiencies of new aircraft and a 7.5 percent decrease in fuel cost. But those drops were offset by a $6.4 million increase in other expenses, including higher insurance and security costs.
Hawaiian Airlines announced last month that it planned to reduce its work force by 4 percent, or about 150 employees, and was cutting back work hours of other employees, in an attempt to pare costs. The airline also has begun operating under an antitrust exemption to begin coordinating capacity with Aloha Airlines on interisland routes.
