HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaiian Airlines has some layoffs coming up.
During the company’s second quarter earnings call, CEO Peter Ingram said the recently completed quarter was incredibly challenging citing the 14-day quarantine as well as the recent cluster within the company.
Hawaiian says that they’ve lost 91.6% of service revenue, and 92% of capacity since the first quarter of 2019.
“With an uncertain planned recovery timeline, our recovery primary planning scenario focuses on being a smaller airline by about 15-25 percent next summer compared to 2019 levels,” Ingram said.
The company says administration employees have already been offered voluntary layoff packages, while early retirement options have been offered to pilots.
“Having to shrink the company that our team has worked so painstakingly to build is heartbreaking but it is essential to preserve the viability, competitiveness, and success of our business over the long term,” Ingram added.
It’s a move that’s tough to stomach, but understandable according to aviation business expert Peter Forman.
“I think it’s probably a reasonable middle ground considering the situation.”
A decades long flight attendant died just last week from COVID-19 after being linked to a recent Hawaiian Airlines training class.
The company is expecting a $364 million loan from the CARES Act. They say that notices to employees in danger of losing their livelihood will be sent in the coming days.
