Hawaiian Holdings, the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, reported a net income of $20.9 million for the fourth quarter of last year, but that figure represented a 70% plunge from the $70.6 million net income it generated during the final three months of 2010.
The airline reported a net loss of $2.6 million during all of 2011 on a total operating revenue of $1.65 billion in a Jan. 31 statement. Hawaiian generated a net profit of $110.3 million on operating revenue of $1.31 billion in 2010.
The company pointed to a one-time lease termination charge of $70 million, related to its purchase of 15 Boeing 717-200 aircraft during the third quarter of 2011, and increased fuel costs for the dramatic shift in year-over-year earnings.
Hawaiian officials said the airline’s average cost for a gallon of jet fuel increased 36.7% in 2011, to $3.13.
“We are pleased with the fourth quarter results, which continue the trend of improvement that began midyear,” Hawaiian’s president and CEO, Mark Dunkerly, said in a statement. “Good cost control and fare increases enabled us to offset the 35% increase in the price of fuel. It is particularly noteworthy that these results were posted during a period in which our operations grew rapidly.”