Hawaiian Airlines said yesterday it will add 109 interisland round-trip flights a week by the end of the year as it brings in four new Boeing 717-200 jets to increase operating efficiency and improve its flight schedule.

The carrier debuted the first jet yesterday, and one will be added each month in November, December and January, giving Hawaiian a total of 15 B717s for interisland service. After a blessing ceremony in Honolulu, the plane left for its first trip to Maui with a full load of 118 passengers.

“;When Aloha collapsed in early April, Hawaiian Airlines basically did a couple of things to try to meet the demands of people who wanted to travel,”; said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and chief executive. “;We increased the length of the flying day - we started some flights leaving earlier in the morning and finishing later in the evening than we did before.”;

Dunkerley said this was a measure to provide seats in the short term but that the new aircraft will allow more people to fly in higher-demand hours later in the morning or earlier in the evening.

The additions come as carriers nationwide have trimmed flights and raised fares to combat rising fuel prices. Hawaiian said in July it posted a second-quarter profit of $1.8 million, or 4 cents a share, excluding a one-time $52.5 million gain from a settlement with Mesa Air Group, which operates interisland carrier go!. Hawaiian's mainland fuel surcharge is $120 each way.

“;Fuel has gone from being sort of exorbitantly high to being outrageously high,”; Dunkerley said. “;We are still having to recoup much higher costs in fuel.”;

Hawaiian could pay as much as $200 million more this year for fuel than last year, he said.

From Honolulu, 39 round trips will be added to Lihue, 27 to Kahului, 25 to Kona and 18 to Hilo. Flights will be added primarily at high-demand times of the day, which include the morning and afternoons for commuter passengers. Prices have reached $134 for a one-way interisland ticket, with lows at $69.

The new jets also will allow Hawaiian to replace a wide-body Boeing 767-300 in November. The plane is typically used as a spare aircraft, and has flown between Honolulu and Maui since the shutdown of Aloha.

“;I don't think that there is anywhere else in the world where a 767 is operated on a flight time of less than an hour,”; Dunkerley said. “;We are really doing it to try and take care of the local community. What we are doing now is to put in airplanes that are much more suitable.”;

The Boeing 717 aircraft were acquired on long-term leases from Boeing Capital Corp. and seat from 118 to 123 passengers, with eight seats in first class. When the additions were first announced in June, two of the aircraft were scheduled to enter service in September, with the other two starting in November and December.