Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (Hawaiian), engages in the scheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo amongst the Hawaiian Islands (the Neighbor Island routes), between the Hawaiian Islands and certain cities in the United States (the North America routes, and together with the Neighbor Island routes, the Domestic routes), and between the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Asia (the International rout...
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (Hawaiian), engages in the scheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo amongst the Hawaiian Islands (the Neighbor Island routes), between the Hawaiian Islands and certain cities in the United States (the North America routes, and together with the Neighbor Island routes, the Domestic routes), and between the Hawaiian Islands and the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Asia (the International routes), collectively referred to as its Scheduled Operations.
The company offers non-stop service to Hawai'i from 15 U.S. mainland cities, which is more U.S. gateway cities than any other airline, and also provide approximately 151 daily flights between the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, the company operates various charter flights.
The company is the longest serving airline, as well as the largest airline headquartered, in the state of Hawai'i, and the 10th largest domestic airline in the United States based on revenue passenger miles (RPMs) reported by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration Bureau of Transportation Services as of October 2023, the latest data available.
As of December 31, 2023, the company’s fleet consisted of 19 Boeing 717-200 aircraft for the Neighbor Island routes and 24 Airbus A330-200 aircraft and 18 Airbus A321neo aircraft utilized primarily on its North America and International routes.
On October 20, 2022, the company entered into an Air Transportation Services Agreement (ATSA) with Amazon.com Services LLC (Customer), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon), to provide certain air cargo transportation services to the Customer for an initial term of eight years. Thereafter, the Customer may elect to extend the ATSA for two years and, at the end of such period, the parties may mutually agree to extend the term for three additional years. The ATSA provides for the company to initially operate ten A330-300F aircraft for the air cargo transportation services with the Customer having the right to enter into work orders for additional aircraft.
Aircraft Maintenance
The company’s aircraft maintenance programs consist of a series of phased or continuous checks for each aircraft type. These checks are performed at specified intervals measured by calendar months, time flown, and by the number of takeoffs and landings, or cycles operated. In addition, the company performs inspections, repairs, and modifications of its aircraft in response to FAA directives. The company performs checks ranging from walk around inspections by its pilots before each flight's departure to major overhauls of the airframes which can take several weeks to complete. The company has contracts with third parties to provide certain maintenance on its aircraft and aircraft engines.
Flight Operations
The company’s flight operations are based in Honolulu, Hawai'i. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated 221 scheduled flights with:
Daily service on the company’s North America routes between the state of Hawai'i and Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Ontario, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; New York City, New York; Austin, Texas; and Boston, Massachusetts.
Daily service on the company’s Neighbor Island routes among the four major islands of the state of Hawai'i.
Scheduled service on the company’s International routes between the state of Hawai'i and Tokyo (Haneda), Tokyo (Narita), Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Papeete, Tahiti; Rarotonga, the Cook Islands; and Seoul, South Korea.
In addition, the company operates various ad hoc charters.
In November 2023, the company announced new daily service between Honolulu, Hawai'i and Salt Lake City, Utah, which will commence in May 2024.
Marketing and Ticket Distribution
The company utilizes various distribution channels for marketing and ticket distribution including its website www.hawaiianairlines.com, (primarily for North America and Neighbor Island routes) and travel agencies and wholesale distributors (primarily for its International routes).
The company’s website is available in English, Japanese and Korean, and offers its customers information on its flight schedules and status, information on its HawaiianMiles frequent flyer program, the ability to book reservations on its flights or connecting flights with any of its code-share partners, and the ability to purchase hotel, car and vacation packages. The company also distributes its fares through online travel agencies.
Frequent Flyer Program
The HawaiianMiles frequent flyer program has continued to grow over the years, with approximately 12.3 million total members as of December 31, 2023. Approximately 51% of frequent flyer program members reside in the U.S. mainland, approximately 18% reside in Hawai'i, and the remainder reside within the company’s international markets.
The company’s Pualani Gold and Platinum status levels recognize its top fliers with additional benefits such as priority airport experiences, Premier Club access, seat upgrades and enhanced baggage allowances.
With a large Hawai'i-based route network, the company’s program has developed an extensive network of partnerships with leading national and local companies that allow members to earn miles beyond their flight activity. Partnerships in key spend categories such as grocery, retail, dining, banking and home improvement provide opportunities for member engagement and third-party revenues.
Hawaiian's partnerships with Barclays, Bank of Hawaii and Mastercard to deliver key products are drivers of engagement and revenues. The HawaiianMiles program has over a half-million cardholders between the Barclays' issued World Elite Mastercard and the Bank of Hawaii VISA debit card. These products allow members to accumulate more miles between their trips on Hawaiian and are critical engagement tools for not only the loyalty program, but also the airline.
The number of free travel awards used for travel on Hawaiian was approximately 874,000 in 2023. The number of free travel awards as a percentage of total revenue passengers was approximately 8% in 2023.
Code-Share and Other Alliances
The company has marketing alliances with other airlines to offer connecting services, as well as frequent flier program relationships that provide reciprocal frequent flyer mileage accrual and redemption privileges, and code-shares on certain flights. These programs enhance the company’s revenue opportunities by:
increasing value to its customers by providing easier access to more travel destinations and better mileage accrual/redemption opportunities;
giving customers access to more connecting flights from other airlines; and
providing its members and members of the company’s alliance partners' frequent flyer programs an opportunity to travel on its system while earning mileage credit in the alliance partners' programs.
Competition
The company’s Neighbor Island competitors consist of interisland carriers, which include Mokulele Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and a number of other air taxi companies.
Seasonality
Hawai'i is a popular vacation destination for travelers. For that reason, the company’s operations and financial results are subject to substantial seasonal and cyclical volatility, primarily due to leisure and holiday travel patterns. Demand levels are typically weaker in the first quarter of the year with stronger demand periods occurring during the months of June, July, August, and December.
The company’s cargo operations are also subject to seasonal volatility. Global trade flows are typically seasonal in nature, with peak activity during the retail holiday season. Demand for air cargo capacity is historically low following a seasonal holiday peak in the fourth quarter of the previous year (year ended December 31, 2023).
Competition
The majority of competition on the company’s North America routes is from network carriers, such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, all of whom have a number of competitive advantages.
Regulation
The company is subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Majority aspects of airlines' operations are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign laws protecting the environment. U.S. federal laws that have a particular impact on the company include the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Certain of the company’s operations are also subject to the oversight of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concerning employee safety and health matters. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), OSHA, and other federal agencies have been authorized to promulgate regulations that affect the company’s operations. The company’s aircraft comply with the existing EPA standards, as applicable, by engine design date.
The U.S. Postal Service has jurisdiction over certain aspects of the transportation of mail and related services provided by the company’s cargo services. The company and other airlines certificated prior to October 24, 1978 are also subject to preferential hiring rights granted by the Airline Deregulation Act to certain airline employees who have been furloughed or terminated (other than for cause).
History
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1929. The company was incorporated in 1929 under the laws of the Territory of Hawaii.
