Tag: Hawaii (Page 3 of 3)

Southwest Airlines Cuts 2019 Growth Forecast

February 20, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co cut its forecast for first-quarter revenue per seat mile on Wednesday, citing weak passenger demand and a $60 million hit to first-quarter sales from the longest partial U.S. government shutdown.

The more than month-long hiatus in U.S. government decision-making prevented the country’s fourth-largest airline from launching its new route to Hawaii and led to widespread delays at airports.

Southwest had said previously that it expected a $10 million to $15 million impact on revenue in the first three weeks of January.

On Wednesday, it quadrupled that for the full quarter and cut its growth estimate for unit revenue to a range of 3 percent to 4 percent from an earlier range of 4 percent to 5 percent.

Shares of the company, which has also been cancelling flights in recent days due to a conflict with maintenance staff and weather issues, fell nearly 5 percent in early trading, with a Goldman Sachs “sell” recommendation for investors adding to the pain.

Though the company has now received permissions for test flights to Hawaii, Goldman Sachs analyst Catherine O’Brien argued the shutdown would result in a shortened selling window for the airline, forcing it to discount fares heavily.

“Most of the company’s schedule is published eight months in advance and we would have expected a three to six month selling window for its Hawaii flights,” O’Brien wrote in a note, downgrading the stock to “sell” from “neutral”.

“We now expect initial flights to have a one to one and a half month selling window, putting more pressure on management to fill planes in a shorter time frame,” she added, cutting price target on the stock to $54 from $66.

Southwest shares were last down 4.1 percent at $55.30.

The company said on Tuesday it would be investigating a doubling of the number of planes grounded with mechanical problems in recent days as it continues talks with its mechanics union on a new contract that have been ongoing since 2012.

Flight cancellations by Southwest accounted for roughly 24 percent of the nearly 800 total flights canceled across the United States on Tuesday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.com.

About half of the cancellations were related to unscheduled maintenance issues but the airline said it had yet to calculate the impact of the groundings on its results.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

American Airlines Takes Delivery of its First A321neo

February 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PITTSBURGH — After an 8 1/2-hour nonstop journey from Hamburg, Germany (XFW), the newest member of the American Airlines fleet has landed.

N400AN, American’s first Airbus A321neo, touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) shortly before noon Feb. 1. After clearing customs, the plane will head to American’s Base Maintenance facility at PIT, where it will spend a couple of weeks undergoing the usual extensive acceptance checks conducted whenever the airline adds a new aircraft type to its fleet. The Tech Ops – PIT team will install ViaSat satellite Wi-Fi, conduct general ops checks and add interior and exterior placards as they customize the aircraft for American. After that, it will visit other American bases before entering service.

The A321neo is scheduled to begin flying customers April 2 between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Arizona and Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida. Once the company takes more deliveries, additional routes will include PHX–Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) in Alaska over the summer, and PHX and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Hawaii later this year as the A321neo begins to replace retiring Boeing 757s. The A321 is already a versatile aircraft, and the A321neo (which stands for “new engine option”) adds about 400 nautical miles in range thanks to improved fuel burn from the new engines, putting additional destinations within reach.

American has ordered 100 of these jets with deliveries running over the next several years. They seat 196 customers and, in addition to the fast Wi-Fi, include power at every seat and free wireless entertainment to each customer’s own device including free live television. Additionally, American is the launch customer for Airbus’ new XL overhead bins which significantly increase capacity. The A321neo is American’s first aircraft delivered with these bins and the company will begin retrofitting existing A321s with this same bin later this year.

American is taking the “Cabin Flex,” or “NX,” option of the A321neo, which has a new door configuration. The A321neo is part of the order for 460 aircraft placed by American in 2011, which also included 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The aircraft from that order have transformed American’s fleet into the youngest among U.S. network airlines.

Story and image from http://www.aa.com

Hawaiian Holdings Announces Investor Day Webcast

November 29, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

HONOLULU, Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA), parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (“Hawaiian”), announced today that it will webcast presentations to investors to be given by Hawaiian’s leadership team on December 11, 2018. The webcast will begin at approximately 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

The webcast will be open to the public through a live audio webcast accessible in the Investor Relations section of Hawaiian’s website at HawaiianAirlines.com. For those who are not able to listen to the live webcast, the presentations will be archived for 90 days on Hawaiian’s website.

About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian® has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past 14 years (2004-2017) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and TripAdvisor have placed Hawaiian among the top of all domestic airlines serving Hawai’i.

Now in its 90^th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawai’i’s biggest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers non-stop service to Hawai’i from more U.S. gateway cities (12) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides approximately 170 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, with a total of more than 250 daily flights system-wide.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow Hawaiian’s Twitter updates (@HawaiianAir), become a fan on Facebook (Hawaiian Airlines), and follow us on Instagram (hawaiianairlines). For career postings and updates, follow Hawaiian’s LinkedIn page.

For media inquiries, please visit Hawaiian Airlines’ online newsroom.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hawaiian-holdings-announces-investor-day-presentation-webcast-300756300.html

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines Begins Code-Sharing With Japan Airlines

March 26, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Last year, more than 1.5 million visitors traveled from Japan to Hawaii. That makes Japan the biggest source of international tourists to Hawaii, nearly equaling all other international markets combined.

For more than seven years, Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA) and Japan Airlines have been fierce competitors in this massive travel market. However, they recently decided to team up. On Sunday, the two carriers began code-sharing — selling flights on each other’s aircraft — for dozens of routes.

Click the link below for the full story!

Hawaiian Airlines code-share with Japan Airlines

United Airlines 777 loses engine cover over Pacific

February 14, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

It’s a flyer’s worst fear: Looking out the window of a plane and seeing something wrong with one of its wings.

Now imagine seeing an engine cover come off — in midair — as you’re peering out said window.

That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday during United Airlines Flight 1175 from San Francisco to Honolulu. The terrifying scene was captured by passengers, who posted photos and videos on social media.

Click the link below for the full story and video!

United 777 loses engine cover

Southwest Airlines looks to Hawaii

October 6, 2017 / WIL BALDWIN

The rumors are mounting that Southwest Airlines will start flying to Hawaii as soon as 2018. The airline views Hawaii as an important opportunity for growth, with CEO Gary Kelly stating that “Hawaii is a high priority for the company”. It appeared that an announcement was imminent last month, when Southwest Airlines decorated a gate at the San Jose International Airport in California in a Hawaiian motif. The air carrier was also the lead sponsor for the Hawaii tourism summit held in September.

There has been a large increase in communication between Southwest Airlines and Hawaiian government officials and its Tourism Authority. It could be that they are trying to coordinate an official announcement date, as the airline tries to complete the checklist of requirements needed to commence Hawaiian service. These requirements include ETOPS certification and updating their reservations software. ETOPS certification is required to operate twin engine flights over the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the mainland.The software update is required to include overnight flights and reservations windows in excess of the current six month limit.

Southwest Airlines resolved a couple of other outstanding issues last year. The airline and its pilots ratified a new contract, settling a bitter 4 year dispute. That was critical, as the pilots claimed that the old contract did not allow for the pilots to operate the new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that were on order. That agreement came on the heels of the Southwest flight attendants also ratifying a new contract. The last obstacle before Southwest’s Hawaiian flights can start is performance testing of the airlines new 737 Max 8 aircraft.