Hawaiian Air posted loss last quarter

The local carrier also lost money for all of 2005 but says it is building revenue and controlling costs

Hawaiian Airlines' parent company yesterday posted a loss for the last quarter of 2005 and for the year, during which the carrier emerged from bankruptcy protection.

"The year was a challenging one, as high fuel costs and intense competition curtailed our profitability," said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. "These factors have continued in 2006, but we continue to make progress towards our goals of increasing operating revenue and controlling expenses."

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Hawaiian posted a net loss of $19.5 million on revenues of $210.3 million, versus a loss of $1.7 million for the year-earlier period on revenues of $184.1 million.

For all of 2005, the company had a net loss of $12.4 million on revenues of $504.3 million, compared to a loss of $7.3 million for all of 2004. The company did not give a comparable revenue figure for 2004, citing accounting complexities related to the bankruptcy.

Fuel costs weighed heavily on Hawaiian's operations. The airline's $60 million fuel bill in the fourth quarter accounted for 27.1 percent of its operating expenses, versus 22.2 percent in the same quarter of 2004.

Traffic stayed healthy, however, with the carrier's planes flying 89.7 percent full in the fourth quarter, up from 86.8 percent a year earlier. The airline said its revenue passenger miles -- the total mileage flown by paying passengers -- rose 11.4 percent for the quarter and 7.7 percent for the year.

Since Hawaiian emerged from bankruptcy, it has taken on more debt and acquired four used Boeing 767-300s for its long-haul routes.

It faces competition not only from Aloha Airlines, which emerged from its own bankruptcy protection last month, but also from Mesa Air Group, which plans to start interisland service next quarter. Hawaiian has sued to delay Mesa from coming here, alleging Mesa used Hawaiian's confidential internal business information in forming its plans. Mesa has countersued Hawaiian, alleging the incumbent carrier violated antitrust laws.