Hawaiian Airlines said its passenger count increased by more than 15,000 in September compared with the same month a year earlier.

The state's largest carrier said it flew a total of 595,000 customers last month, which was up 2.7 percent from September 2007's 579,648.

Hawaiian also said its planes were 80 percent full last month, compared with 87.9 percent in September 2007. The lower load factor came after the airline increased its passenger capacity following the shutdowns of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines earlier this year.