Hawaiian reports record first-quarter

HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines hit record profits in the first quarter of 2016.

For the quarter that ended in March, Hawaiian reported adjusted net income of $43 million, a $18.3 million increase from last year, the release said.

“The outstanding first quarter results are a strong start to 2016,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines president and chief executive officer.

Dunkerley credits “solid” travel to Hawaii, industry growth, customer service and low fuel costs for the first quarter success.

As of March 31, the airline also had unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $669 million. The company also retired $52 million of debt earlier than expected, the release said.

Hawaiian Airlines started offering a direct flight in January from Los Angeles to Lihue three times a week on a B767, which has 264 seats, said Alex Da Silva, a spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines.

During the first quarter, the airline also offered 21 round-trip flights between Lihue and Honolulu everyday starting at 6:40 a.m. and ending at 10:48 p.m., Da Silva said.

There were also four round-trip flights to Maui from Lihue, he added.

Both flights used a B717, which has 128 seats each.

“We try to provide maximum travel choice by clustering flights closer together during the peak periods everyday,” Da Silva said.

Those numbers for the Lihue Airport are expected to remain the same going into the second quarter.

The airline was also named No. 1 for on-time performance in January and February by the U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.

Additionally, the airline made changes to the sales team in Australia and New Zealand and announced the purchase of a Full Flight Simulator for on-site pilot training.

Dunkerley hopes this year’s trends will continue through the rest of the year.

“Our outlook is for these positive trends to continue reinforcing our confidence that 2016 will be a great year,” he said.