“It’s our secret sauce”: Hawaiian Airlines CEO on how the airline doubled in size over 10 years

“It’s our secret sauce”: Hawaiian Airlines CEO on how the airline doubled in size over 10 years

Just when you thought all the fun from the CAPA conference fun was over, we’re bringing you yet another exciting piece of content from the phenomenal event.

Hawaiian Airlines CEO and President, Peter Ingram, spoke at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation and Corporate Travel Summit about the airline’s iconic product offering.

Ingram explained how in the short space of ten years, Hawaiian managed to completely transform themselves from a small carrier in the middle of the Pacific to a major competitor in the sea of international giants.

“The airline’s exclusive mission of being Hawai‘i’s ‘destination airline’ translates into a very focused business model unlike any other in the industry,” he said.

“And it is the common denominator that drives all decisions Hawaiian makes around who we partner with, the type of aircraft we operate and the way we design and market our products and deliver our service.”

In order to transform itself into the airline we know today, Hawaiian chose to expand aggressively, adding eight new long-haul cities between 2010 and 2014.

The airline then went on to transform their fleet to maximise efficiency.

“Equipped with the right aircraft, today we find ourselves in a period of refining and enhancing our value proposition to our guests in a greater number of destinations,” Ingram said.

“Drawing on our expertise of Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i’s visitors, we have been perfecting our service and products to offer superior value to our guests based on their travel needs and preferences.”

According to Ingram, the airline’s focus on being uniquely Hawaiian places it ahead of its competitors through their 89-year history of serving the islands.

“We understand the Hawai‘i visitor better than any of our competitors for whom Hawai‘i is a small part of their network,” he said.

“In addition to retrofitting our cabin to add comfort, we work with local island chefs for our meals; partner with local artist Sig Zane on our uniforms and amenity kit designs; and we recently renovated all our airport lounges.”

“We are constantly looking at ways to refresh all aspects of our guest offerings.”

Ingram said the airline is designed to make guests feel as though they are in Hawai’i from the moment they board.

“It’s our secret sauce and one that cannot be replicated by any of our competitors. In 10 short years, we have more than doubled in size, literally in all aspects of the business.

“Yet, as our network demonstrates, our core mission is unchanged: we remain all about Hawai‘i.”

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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