Hawaiian Airlines' parent posted good results in a seasonally weak fourth quarter to end the year stronger than the previous one for the second time in a row.

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. posted net income in the quarter of $35 million, or 66 cents a share, to end the year with a profit of $116.7 million, or $2.22 cents a share. In 2008 Hawaiian had a fourth-quarter loss of $11.9 million, or 23 cents a share, finishing the year with a gain of $28.6 million, or 57 cents a share.

About $40 million in tax benefits, lowered fuel costs for most of the year and a record 8.3 million passengers boosted Hawaiian's year-end results, leading President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Dunkerley to proclaim it “;the most successful airline serving Hawaii in 2009.”;

“;With lower fuel prices and the hard work of everyone at Hawaiian Airlines, we overcame the effects of an economic recession and the attentions of a new entrant on our interisland routes to post our company's best-ever results,”; Dunkerley said yesterday.

Aircraft fuel costs, which represented a quarter of operating expenses, decreased 10.5 percent in the last three months of 2009 from the year-earlier period. Hawaiian's average cost per gallon of jet fuel decreased to $2.08 in the fourth quarter, which represented a 10.7 percent year-over-year decline.

Hawaiian saw fourth-quarter revenue decline by 1.2 percent to $297 million as it weathered the global economic downturn that caused visitor arrivals to fall 16 percent from their peak in 2007, Dunkerley said. For 2009 revenue fell 2.3 percent to $1.18 billion from $1.2 billion in 2008. Hawaiian also sustained a 7 percent rise in operating expenses, which hit $280.9 million in the fourth quarter. They fell 3.9 percent to $1.07 billion for the year.

Still, the company “;was encouraged by gradual strengthening in demand as the year progressed with December being the strongest month since the recovery began,”; Dunkerley said.

As of Dec. 31, Hawaiian had $301.8 million in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.

“;Over the course of 2009, we improved our balance of unrestricted cash and short-term investments by $96 million while simultaneously paying down $25 million in our loan balances,”; Ingram said.

While visitor demand is expected to improve in 2010, Hawaiian will still be challenged by rising fuel costs and operating expenses, Dunkerley said. Maintenance on Hawaiian's 717 and 767 fleets and the introduction of three A330-200s combined with rising wage and benefits will create cost challenges that must be offset in 2010, he said.