Hawaiian Airlines Carries Record 11.8 Million Passengers in 2018

Hawaiian Airlines Inc. reports its system-wide traffic statistics for the month, quarter, and full year ended Dec. 31, 2018. The company also updated its expectations for certain fourth quarter 2018 financial metrics.

Hawaiian welcomed a record 11,840,178 guests in 2018, a 2.9% increase over the previous year. The record number of passengers in 2018 marks 14 straight years of growth as Hawaiian continues to expand its network and fleet, providing travelers with more options to fly to, from, and within the Hawaiian Islands than any other carrier.

Hawaiian took delivery of nine A321neo aircraft in 2018, bringing the total size of its A321neo fleet to 11 aircraft. The A321neo will help the airline build upon its already strong U.S. West Coast presence, including new daily non-stop service to Maui’s Kahului Airport from Portland, Sacramento and San Diego international airports, as well as to Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport from Long Beach. The airline will also begin new five-times-a-week non-stop service to Honolulu from Boston’s Logan International Airport on April 4.

Fourth Quarter Outlook

The company has revised certain of its expectations for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018 that were provided previously.

Specifically, the company:

• is narrowing its estimates for operating revenue per Available Seat Miles (ASM) at the positive end of its prior guidance range due primarily to better than expected yields on its International routes and slightly better than expected holiday traffic on its North America routes;
• is narrowing its estimates for operating costs per ASM excluding fuel, and gallons of jet fuel consumed; and
• is revising its estimate for economic fuel cost per gallon.

The table below summarizes the company’s revised expectations for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018, expressed as an expected percentage change compared to the results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017.