Hawaiian seeks seventh
extension on lease talks
with Boeing Capital
Hawaiian Airlines' attempt to restructure its aircraft lease agreements with Boeing Capital Corp. will continue into next year.
The carrier, which has been attempting to restructure its aircraft leases with Boeing Capital since March, filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court yesterday asking for a seventh extension to prevent Boeing Capital from repossessing any aircraft. Unlike previous extensions that were a month in duration, this latest filing asks that the deadline for reaching an agreement be extended until March 15, 2004. An expedited hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. today since the current extension expires Monday.
Boeing Capital spokesman Russ Young said the aircraft lessor would have preferred to have reached an agreement but that the longer extension may facilitate negotiations.
"It doesn't necessarily mean we want to wait until March for a permanent agreement," Young said. "In fact, it allows us to focus even more effort on a permanent agreement without having to stop and file extensions."
Hawaiian, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on March 21, announced in October it had reached a deal with Boeing Capital to return two of the 13 717s it leases from the lessor. One of those planes already has been returned and Hawaiian is scheduled to return the other early next month. Both 717s have been committed to AirTran Airways. The fleet reduction will leave Hawaiian with 25 aircraft, including three 767s that the airline also leases from Boeing Capital. The remaining 11 planes are leased from Ansett Worldwide and International Lease Finance Corp.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian reported continuing business growth after carrying 464,047 passengers in November, up 7.4 percent from 431,997 in November 2002. Revenue passenger miles, the number of paying passengers times the number of miles they were carried, rose 21.5 percent to 479.6 million last month from 394.6 million in the previous November.
Available seat miles rose 2.4 percent to 566.2 million from 553.1 million. The result was a 13.4-point increase in load factor, the percentage of available seats filled by paying passengers, to 84.7 percent from a year-earlier 71.3 percent.