A new study is good news for Hawaiian residents and visitors alike. Two of the leading airlines serving Hawaii, and one about to begin serving Hawaii, have ranked at the top of Aviation Week’s just released annual Top-Performing Airlines study. The competitiveness report examined which companies have done best during the global financial crisis and is an indication of strengths, weaknesses, and financial viability both now and in the future.
Alaska Air Group ranked first and Hawaiian Air ranked sixth among all mainline/legacy carriers. Allegiant Air ranked first, and Canada’s WestJet was seventh in the study’s low-cost/niche category. No other airlines serving Hawaii ranked in the top ten of any category.
Strong management, liquidity and good financial health, efficiency and nimbleness were keys according to Michael Lowry, the study’s project manager.
While scale should be of benefit for larger carriers, some smaller carriers, including these three who are key to Hawaii’s airline future, have taken advantage of their independence and flexibility. In fact half of the top ten mainline carriers in the study (including these three) have annual revenues of less than $5 billion; all three top-rated carriers serving Hawaii are not in airline alliances.
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Linda (1 year ago)
Allegiant may be top performing on their spreadsheet, but there is a reason for that. Allegiant’s unofficial motto is “We never met a fee we did not like.” They charge even more extra fees than the legacy carriers. You are charged an extra fee for everything including booking online or over the phone (the only way to avoid this fee is to physically go to the airport & buy your ticket at the counter). While booking online, several fees are added on, like “priority boarding” and “seat choice”. You can opt out of these fees but must make a conscious action to do so; otherwise, they are automatically added on. I use this airline, but one just needs to be extra cautious about all the extra fees they charge.