HONOLULU, February 4, 2004 -- For the second consecutive month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reported today that Hawaiian Airlines had the nation's best on-time service for December 2003, with 88.3 percent of its flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
"To finish up 2003 with two straight months as America's #1 on-time carrier is a tremendous accomplishment for Hawaiian Airlines and I congratulate all of our employees for their dedication and hard work to make this achievement possible," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and chief operating officer.
Dunkerley added that an analysis of Hawaiian's on-time performance with the available industry data shows that Hawaii's biggest and oldest airline had the nation's most punctual record in 2003. "Had Hawaiian reported its results to the DOT each month, we're gratified to know that we would have ranked as the nation's #1 on-time carrier for the entire year," said Dunkerley.
The DOT issued its Air Travel Consumer Report today for December 2003 comparing the performance of Hawaiian and 17 other major and regional airlines that file monthly statistics with the federal agency. On-time service, according to DOT standards, is any flight arriving within 15 minutes of its scheduled time.
Hawaiian averages approximately 30 transpacific flights and 100 interisland flights daily. The company's interisland service is marked by back-to-back flights and short, 25-minute transition times on the ground between flights that emphasize the operational efficiency needed for Hawaiian to maintain such a high level of on-time service.
The two consecutive months of #1 rankings reported by DOT to end 2003 followed an industry analysis by the Honolulu market research firm of Q-Mark Research & Polling showing that Hawaiian had the nation's best on-time performance from January through October 2003, with 92.1 percent of flights arriving on time. The analysis covered approximately 40,000 flights and 4.6 million passengers that Hawaiian serviced for the first 10 months of the year, and compared data collected from the airline with the published data of the DOT.
Hawaiian's successful on-time service was enhanced in January 2003 when a task team of front-line employees and management conducted an exhaustive evaluation of operations and procedures "above and below wing." Numerous recommendations were implemented ranging in scope from minute procedural changes to increased staffing, which collectively produced consistently high flight schedule reliability and enhanced customer service.
The Air Travel Consumer Report is available online at www.airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines is recognized as one of the best airlines in America. Business travelers recently surveyed by Condé Nast Traveler rated Hawaiian Airlines as having the best in-flight service and meals of any U.S. carrier. Hawaiian was recently ranked fourth best in the nation overall by Travel + Leisure.
Founded in Honolulu 74 years ago, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's largest and longest-serving airline, and the second largest provider of passenger air service between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more mainland U.S. gateways than any other airline. Hawaiian also provides approximately 100 daily jet flights among the Hawaiian Islands, as well as service to American Samoa and Tahiti.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (AMEX and PCX: HA). Since the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee on May 16, 2003, Hawaiian Holdings has had no involvement in the management of Hawaiian Airlines and has had limited access to information concerning the airline.
Additional information on Hawaiian Airlines is available at www.HawaiianAir.com