Hawaiian Airlines bolsters its balance sheet and prepares for a new network era with A321neos

During the past decade, Hawaiian Airlines has exited bankruptcy protection and embarked on a significant network expansion that required the addition of costly widebody aircraft in a relatively short period of time.

Now the company is beginning to reap some of the benefits of that expansion as its growth has slowed during the last couple of years. Its balance sheet metrics have improved, and it is working to manage its debt levels prudently. In fact, it has beat its targets in some leverage metrics in 2015 and expanded its return on invested capital.

Hawaiian's outlook for 2016 remains positive. Its forecast capacity growth is in line with its supply expansion during 2015, and its upward margin trajectory should continue. The next major milestone for Hawaiian is the delivery of A321neos beginning in 2017, which will give the airline a new level of flexibility to effectively manage its network.