Hawaiian Airlines ‘A Quiet Achiever’ Despite Poor Ranking From WalletHub

After bouncing back from its 2005 bankruptcy, Hawaiian Airlines has shown some major successes and has proven to be a “quiet achiever” in the airline industry. At the start of the year, the company has been ranked first by the Official Airlines Guide or OAG as the best airline with on-time performance. Not only that, the company has also reported its best financial record with earnings reaching $244 million for 2016, which is a remarkable increase of 30 percent from its recorded income from the previous year.

But recent reports from Wallethub have put Hawaiian Airlines at the bottom three for overall performance among U.S. airliners. According to the research conducted, Hawaiian airlines is the least most comfortable airline compared to other national carriers. The airline is also found out to have high animal incidents reported that have resulted in death, injury or loss. Although it is third among airlines in terms of reliability, the airline has scored low on other categories, which have resulted in Hawaiian receiving 56.4 points out of 100. Top on the list Alaska Airlines has scored with 81.02 points.

Hawaiian Airlines remains optimistic and steady with their achievements. The airline is expecting to receive an A321neo aircraft, which has a cabin designed for guests to have more comfort and premium leisure while in-flight. The airline has teamed up with JPA Design, a U.K.-based global transport and hospitality design firm, to come up with the best interior that will be able to embody modern Hawaii. Avi Manis, the senior vice-president of marketing, shared some details with regards to the partnership of the airline with JPA.

“With an 88-year legacy of authentic Hawaiian hospitality, we are rooted in a sense of place and culture that guides the sensory design elements across our fleet. Together with JPA Design, we have created an emotionally satisfying, aesthetically rich in-flight experience that will transform guests in every cabin of our A321neo aircraft.”

Tim Manson, the above-mentioned firm’s director of design, said in a talk at the Sixth Annual Passenger Experience Conference in Hamburg, Germany that “collaborating closely with the team at Hawaiian, we crafted a cabin interior that draws inspiration from Hawaii’s rich past and contemporary present. Symbolism from Hawaii’s story is woven throughout the cabin interiors, subtly immersing guests in an environment that brings an elevated authentic premium leisure experience.”

The airline is due to receive 18 new A321neo aircrafts for the next three years. The plane has 189 seats with 16 first-class, 45 for Extra Comfort, and 128 for Economy Class.

With regards to the growth seen in 2016, the CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, Mark Dunkerley, during an interview with CNBC as part of the celebration of the fourth year anniversary of the Honolulu – Auckland service, has expressed his thoughts on the airline’s growing achievements.

“The guidance we’re giving is that we’ve had a record-breaking 2016 and a lot of the trends that we saw in 2016 have continued into 2017. Those trends are very strong consumer demand, low fuel prices by historic standards… and a pretty benign capacity environment, but that depends market by market.”

This year, Hawaiian Airlines is taking more interest and has pledged its commitment to the Asia-Pacific market. It aims to expand its reach in the region. Last year, the airline added routes and flights servicing to and from Tokyo, Japan. Dunkerley has mentioned previously that “the areas that are seeing rapid economic growth are principally around the Pacific Rim and we are well situated to take advantage of that.”

Hawaiian Airlines is the eighth largest flying commercial airliner in the U.S. It has flown 11.1 million passengers in 2016, which is a 3.5 increase from the previous year. The company, according to Nasdaq, is expected to report its earnings on the 20.

[Featured Image by PRNewsFoto/Hawaiian Airlines/AP Images]