Hawaiian’s Q3 net income up 31%; A321neo deliveries ‘back on track’

Hawaiian Airlines reported a Q3 net profit of $93.5m, up 31% compared to net profit of $71.6m in the same period a year earlier. Hawaiian CEO Peter Ingram described this as a “solid” performance, but still short of expectations mainly because of severe weather events in Hawaii and Japan that affected operations. Operating profit fell 31.5% to $115.8m. Revenue for the quarter was up 6% to $759m, with passenger revenue up 4.3%. Operating costs rose 17.6% to $643.3m. Hawaiian’s capacity increased by 8.1% in Q3, with yield down 1.7% and passenger unit revenue dropping 3.6%. The carrier expects Q4 capacity to be up 4.5%-6.5%, and full-year capacity is forecast to grow by 5.5%-6.5%. For next year, capacity growth is expected to be less than in 2018. Hawaiian said its A321neo deliveries have caught up to their planned timetable following delays earlier this year, which will allow the airline to phase out its remaining Boeing 767s in early 2019.<br/>