Hawaiian Leads Nation's Carriers in On-Time Service for 6th Straight Year

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Feb 12, 2010, 11:43 ET

HONOLULU, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Airlines extended its streak as the nation's #1 on-time airline to a sixth consecutive year in 2009, according to today's release of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Air Travel Consumer Report for December and year-end.

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Hawaiian's on-time performance for all of 2009 averaged 92.1 percent highlighted by its leading the industry in each month for the entire year (Hawaiian ranked #1 in December at 87.0 percent). Hawaiian has led the nation's carriers in on-time performance every year since 2004 and during that span has earned the #1 ranking in 63 out of a possible 72 months.

"The employees of Hawaiian Airlines know what customers care about most is arriving on time, and for the last six years, no one's been better at this than Hawaiian Airlines," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO.

Hawaiian also finished 2009 as the nation's top-ranked carrier for fewest flight cancellations based on data reported monthly by DOT. Hawaiian averaged an industry-best 0.2 percent for flight cancellations in 2009, and either led all carriers or tied for the top spot in nine of the 12 months. In December, Hawaiian was nearly perfect at finishing #1 with only two cancellations out of 5,833 total flights.

Hawaiian earned the second-highest overall score for baggage handling in 2009 averaging 1.90 mishandled baggage reports for every 1,000 passengers served during the year. In December, Hawaiian recorded the industry's top score with 1.66 mishandled baggage reports per 1,000 passengers.

Hawaiian also ranked second overall nationally in fewest oversales for 2009, reporting only 22 involuntary denied boardings out of more than 8.3 million passengers served during the year.

Hawaiian is the nation's largest provider of air service to Hawaii from the Western U.S., as well as the leading carrier for interisland service between the islands of Hawaii.

The DOT report covers 19 airlines, including nine carriers providing service to Hawaii, and is available online at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/atcr10.htm.

About Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian is the nation's highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2008 in the 19th annual Airline Quality Rating study. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past six years (2004-2009) and has been an industry leader in fewest misplaced bags during that same period (#1 from 2005-2007, #2 in 2008-2009) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the top domestic airline serving Hawaii.

Now in its 81st year of continuous service for Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 160 daily jet flights within the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.

SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines