HONOLULU Hawaiian Airlines said Friday it will cut capacity by 8% to 10% next month and by 15% to 20% in May as demand for air travel drops because of the new coronavirus.
HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines said Friday it will cut capacity by 8% to 10% next month and by 15% to 20% in May as demand for air travel drops because of the new coronavirus.
The Honolulu-based airline said in a news release the declines are in comparison to its original plans for the year.
CEO Peter Ingram told employees in a letter the company will cut costs by deferring non-essential aircraft painting and renegotiating vendor rates. The airline is instituting a hiring freeze.
Senior executives and board members are taking compensation cuts of 10% to 20% through at least June.
Earlier this month, Hawaiian suspended flights from South Korea and reduced flights to Japan.
Ingram told a legislative advisory committee Thursday that it’s impossible to predict when tourism will recover after COVID-19. Until it does, he said businesses would suffer “considerable damage” and the entire state would suffer “economic pain.”
It is time for the Airline industry, servicing the Hawaiian Islands, like the cruise ship industry, to begin voluntary suspension of all non-essential service to the Hawaiian Islands.