Back from the bankruptcy brink
From its perch in the Pacific, Hawaiian Airlines has recovered from bankruptcy filings in the 1990s and 2000s to carve out a profitable niche flying vacationers from the West Coast and Asia to the 50th state. Peter Ingram, who joined Hawaiian in 2005, was elevated from chief commercial officer to CEO in March, succeeding longtime leader Mark Dunkerley. Ingram spoke recently to The Associated Press about increasing competition, airlines’ financial stability and swings in the economy. Ingram says airlines are in better financial shape today but they’re still vulnerable to economic ups and downs.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker says the industry is so strong that he doesn’t expect to ever lose money again. Would you make that promise about Hawaiian?
Airlines are much stronger financially, we have generally stronger balance sheets, strong cash flow, and that is allowing people to make long-term decisions that are sensible. We are still susceptible to economic swings and we are still exposed to currency and commodity volatility, but I do agree with the notion that from a financial-performance perspective, the highs should be higher and the lows should be less low as we go through an economic cycle.
Southwest Airlines is about to start flying to Hawaii. Does that scare you?
It doesn’t. We think Southwest is a great airline and we are envious of a 40-plus-year track record of profitability, but it’s really not something new for us to have competitors coming into the market. A few years ago we had Allegiant start service to Hawaii and I remember a lot of the investment analysts that cover our stock were sort of prophesizing the immediate doom of Hawaiian Airlines. We’ve had Alaska coming into the market ... ATA was in the market as a low-cost carrier about a decade ago.
Does your focus on leisure travel make you more vulnerable if the U.S. economy slumps?
If you look back to the time around the global financial crisis, leisure travel actually held up better than business travel. I don’t think that is a fluke or an accident. People value their time off. Our guests don’t necessarily live to work, they work to live.
Some U.S. airlines have had notable customer-service failures. Is air travel getting that much worse?
It’s hard for me to tell how much of it is that traveling has become more difficult or that reporting has become better as everyone has become a photojournalist. Our airplanes are very full and that can create stress and tension sometimes, and the overall travel experience — not so much on the airplane but leading up to travel — can be stressful. (We should make) the transactions, whether it’s checking in or checking a bag or getting through security, more seamless.