Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA) today announced its system-wide traffic statistics for the month and quarter ended September 30, 2018. It also updated its expectations for certain third quarter financial metrics.
Hawaiian welcomed nearly 919 thousand guests in September 2018, a record for the month of September and an increase of 0.6 percent over the same period last year. Total traffic (revenue passenger miles) increased 5.8 percent on an increase of 9.6 percent in capacity (available seat miles). Load factor decreased 3.0 points to 83.6 percent.
For the three months ended September 30, 2018, Hawaiian welcomed more than three million guests, a record for the third quarter and an increase of 1.3 percent over the same period last year. Total traffic increased 6.2 percent on an increase of 8.1 percent in capacity. Load factor decreased 1.6 points to 85.5 percent.
The table below summarizes September, third quarter, and year-to-date traffic statistics compared to the respective prior-year periods.
SYSTEM-WIDE OPERATIONS1
|
SEPTEMBER |
2018 |
2017 |
% CHANGE |
|
PAX |
918,715 |
913,488 |
0.6% |
|
RPMS (000) |
1,446,766 |
1,367,347 |
5.8% |
|
ASMS (000) |
1,729,723 |
1,578,385 |
9.6% |
|
LF |
83.6% |
86.6% |
(3.0 pts.) |
|
THIRD QUARTER |
2018 |
2017 |
% CHANGE |
|
PAX |
3,039,107 |
3,001,446 |
1.3% |
|
RPMS (000) |
4,557,706 |
4,293,095 |
6.2% |
|
ASMS (000) |
5,352,976 |
4,950,800 |
8.1% |
|
LF |
85.1% |
86.7% |
(1.6 pts.) |
|
YEAR-TO-DATE |
2018 |
2017 |
% CHANGE |
|
PAX |
8,948,975 |
8,591,733 |
4.2% |
|
RPMS (000) |
12,921,666 |
12,190,846 |
6.0% |
|
ASMS (000) |
15,104,500 |
14,208,642 |
6.3% |
|
LF |
85.5% |
85.8% |
(0.3 pts.) |
|
PAX |
Passengers transported |
|
RPM |
Revenue Passenger Miles; one paying passenger transported one mile |
|
ASM |
Available Seat Miles; one seat transported one mile |
|
LF |
Load Factor; percentage of seating capacity filled |
|
1Includes the operations of contract carriers under capacity purchase agreements. |
Third Quarter 2018 Outlook
The Company has revised its expectations for the quarter ending September 30, 2018, that were previously provided on September 5, 2018.
Specifically, for the third quarter, the Company:
- lowered its expectations for revenue per ASM (RASM) as a result of service disruptions, passenger cancellations and booking interruptions stemming from Hurricane Olivia that affected the Hawaiian island chain in early September, and from Typhoon Jebi that affected Japan in September and resulted in the closure of Osaka’s Kansai International Airport for more than 10 days;
- raised its expectations for gallons of jet fuel consumed due to higher than expected fuel burn in the quarter; and
- lowered its expectations for costs per ASM (CASM) excluding fuel and special items.
The table below summarizes the Company’s revised expectations for the quarter ending September 30, 2018, expressed as an expected percentage change compared to the results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.
|
Item |
Prior Third |
Revised Third |
GAAP |
Prior GAAP |
Revised |
|||||
|
Operating revenue per available seat mile (ASM) |
Flat – Down 2.0% |
Down 1.5 – 2.5% |
||||||||
|
Cost per ASM (CASM) excluding aircraft fuel and special items (a) |
Up 0.5 – 3.5% |
Up 1.0 – 2.0% |
Cost per ASM |
Up 6.8 – 10.3% |
Up 7.6 – 9.9% |
|||||
|
Gallons of jet fuel consumed |
Up 5.0 – 7.0% |
Up 7.0 – 8.0% |
|
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Reconciliations for a reconciliation of GAAP operating expenses to operating expenses excluding aircraft fuel and special items. |
Non-GAAP Financial Reconciliations
Operating Costs per Available Seat Mile (CASM)
(in thousands, except CASM data) (unaudited)
|
Estimated three months ending September 30, 2018 |
||||||||
|
GAAP operating expenses |
$ |
636,401 |
to |
649,791 |
||||
|
Less: aircraft fuel, including taxes and delivery |
(159,006) |
to |
(167,670) |
|||||
|
Adjusted operating expenses – excluding aircraft fuel and special items |
477,394 |
to |
482,121 |
|||||
|
Available Seat Miles |
5,351,815 |
to |
5,351,815 |
|||||
|
CASM – GAAP |
11.89 |
¢ |
to |
12.14 |
¢ |
|||
|
Less: aircraft fuel |
(2.97) |
to |
(3.13) |
|||||
|
CASM – excluding aircraft fuel and special items |
8.92 |
¢ |
to |
9.01 |
¢ |
|||