Hawaiian Air Moving to Fill Void

No doubt Hawaiian's response to the sudden shutdowns represents a bright spot in the airline's history. Dunkerley said the carrier's major fear was that photos showing people stranded by Aloha and ATA, and then forced to sleep in the airports, would hurt Hawaii's image.

That didn't occur, though, partially because Hawaiian added extra flights for stranded passengers, including three trans-Pacific flights. Also, many Hawaiian employees volunteered to work during the crisis, Dunkerley said.

"We felt that was important to improving the reputation of Hawaii as a great place to visit," he said. "We believe our reputation was enhanced in the weeks following the shutdown."

Subsequently, Hawaiian has increased its interisland service by 4,500 seats to 20,000 seats daily. It is seeking additional aircraft and an announcement is pending, but the aircraft would not enter service until the third quarter. Hawaiian also plans to lease additional Boeing 767s for mainline service.

There is a downside to the crisis, in that Hawaiian must use its spare aircraft to provide interisland service until new planes arrive. As a result, "we expect to see some of our operational metrics decline throughout the summer, said Dunkerley. "There is no free lunch."

Meanwhile, the carrier settled a case where a Honolulu bankruptcy court judge ordered Mesa to pay Hawaiian $80 million for misusing confidential information. Mesa had been required to post a bond. In the settlement, both carriers get quick access to the cash.

For Hawaiian's latest quarter, revenue rose 16.7% to $251.2 million. Revenue per available seat mile increased 10.6%. while load factor fell 2.5 points to 85%. Cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, rose 0.4% to 7.99 cents.

United(UAUA Quote) remains the leading carrier in the Hawaii-mainland market, with a 25% share. US Airways(LCC Quote) has grown rapidly in the market, which also has service by American(AMR Quote), Continental(CAL Quote), Northwest(NWA Quote) and Alaska(ALK Quote).