ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Our business operations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those outside of our control, that could cause our actual results to be harmed, including risks regarding the following:
Business Risks
•the material adverse impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and financial performance
Economic Risks
•global economic volatility
•our dependence on tourism to, from, and amongst the Hawaiian Islands
•our dependence on the price and availability of fuel
•our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations
Liquidity Risks
•credit market conditions
•our debt, including covenants that restrict our financial and business operations
•certain operating and other restrictions under our agreements with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the Treasury)
•requirements for us to maintain reserves under our credit card processing agreements
Competitive Environment Risks
•the extremely competitive environment in which we operate
•the effect of inflation on our profitability
•the effect of interest rate increases on the fair value of our fixed income investments
•the concentration of our business
•the competitive advantages held by network carriers in the North America market
•our reliance on commercial relationships with other airlines to provide access to Domestic and International routes
•the effect of increased capacity provided by our competitors on our North American and Neighbor Island routes
•the effect of competition from domestic and foreign carriers on our International routes
Information Technology and Third-Party Risks
•compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security and security standards imposed by our commercial partners
•actual or perceived failure to protect customer or other personal or confidential information
•our increasing dependence on technology and automated systems to operate our business
•our reliance on third-party contractors to provide certain facilities and services
Labor Relations and Related Costs Risks
•our dependence on satisfactory labor relations
•our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and key executives
Strategy and Brand Risks
•our ability to successfully implement our route and network strategy
•damage to our reputation or brand image
•adverse publicity
Airline Industry, Regulation and Related Costs Risks
•the substantial operating leverage of the airline industry and other conditions beyond its control
•any inability to maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure at airports within the state of Hawai'i
•substantial seasonal and cyclical volatility of our business
•terrorist attacks or international hostilities, or the fear of terrorist attacks or hostilities
•extensive government regulation, new regulations and taxes impacting the airline industry
•climate change, including increased regulation and the impact of severe weather events
•federal budget constraints
•compliance with various environmental laws and regulations required of the airline industry
•our expansion into non-U.S. jurisdictions and the related laws and regulations to which we are subject
•litigation or regulatory action in the normal course of business or otherwise
•changes in tax laws or regulations and our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards
•increases in our insurance costs or reductions in coverage
•extended interruptions or disruptions in service
Fleet and Fleet-Related Risks
•our dependence on a limited number of suppliers for aircraft, aircraft engines and parts
•significant future financial commitments and operating costs related to our agreements to purchase Boeing 787-9 aircraft
•delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries or other loss of fleet capacity
•any impairment and other related charges related to the value of our long-lived assets
Common Stock Risks
•fluctuations in our share price
•our inability to repurchase our common stock or pay dividends on our common stock under the terms of our federal PSP agreements
•limitations on voting and ownership by non-U.S. citizens in our certificate of incorporation and exclusive forum provisions in our bylaws
•provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws that may delay or prevent a change of control
Risks Related to Securities Offerings
•the publication of research about us by analysts
•the effect of our indebtedness and liabilities related to our debt offerings on the cash flow available for our operations and to satisfy our obligations related such debt
BUSINESS RISKS
The global COVID-19 pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial performance. We are unable to predict the extent to which the pandemic and related impacts will continue to adversely affect our business operations, liquidity, financial performance, results of operations, financial position or the achievement of our strategic objectives.
Our operations and financial performance have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While we have experienced increases in demand for travel to and within the state of Hawai'i, we cannot predict developments from the COVID-19 pandemic and responses thereto, including the emergence of new variants of the virus, vaccine mandates or recommendations related to travel to and within the state of Hawai'i. As such, the economic consequences of future developments are uncertain, rapidly changing and difficult to predict. The pandemic’s impact on our operations and financial performance, as well as its impact on our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and initiatives, remains uncertain. Further, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and financial performance depends on many factors that are not within our control, including, but not limited, to: governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic (including restrictions on and requirements related to travel, transport and our workforce); the pace, effectiveness and utilization of vaccinations, including state or federal vaccine mandates placed on travelers or our employees; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to it on global and regional economies and travel; the availability of federal, state, or local funding programs; general economic uncertainty in global markets and financial market volatility; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
The COVID-19 pandemic has subjected our operations, financial performance and financial condition to a number of risks, including, but not limited to those discussed below:
•Financial risks: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced a significant decrease in demand for air travel and reduced load capacity on flights currently operated. For the three months ended June 30, 2022, our revenue was $691.9 million, down $36.0 million from the same period in 2019.
•Operations- and customer-related risks: Across our business and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have faced operational challenges, including continued delay in the recovery of international travel. Although several operational challenges have lessened as governments have lifted or modified travel restrictions, vaccination rates have increased, and demand for air travel has recovered meaningfully on certain routes, we are unable to predict future events that may constrain the recovery of or demand for air travel as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We expect levels of passenger traffic and revenue, as compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, to improve but remain depressed, particularly with respect to international markets due to delays in resumption of international travel. Additionally, we expect to incur additional costs if we continue to increase the number of flights offered as passenger traffic to the Hawaiian Islands increases, which we will incur before the anticipated additional revenue is earned. Our workforce has been and may continue to be significantly impacted by constrained labor markets, staffing shortages, and the continued spread and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a negative impact on our operations. We have implemented enhanced measures to protect the health and safety of our passengers and employees and may be required or determine to take additional safety measures to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 that may further impact our operations and results of operations.
•Legal and regulatory risks: While we are endeavoring to take all reasonable precautions and have instituted numerous health and safety measures to protect our guests and our employees, there can be no assurance that guests will not be exposed to COVID-19 while traveling, or that our employees will not be exposed to COVID-19 while working. Should such exposure be determined to have been caused while traveling or working, notwithstanding the steps we take to protect our guests and employees, we may be subject to civil lawsuits or employee grievances that give rise to legal liability. We also receive requests for, and provide, workplace reasonable accommodation, including with respect to our employee vaccination requirements, pursuant to federal and state law. While we carry employment practices liability insurance, we have become subject to claims related to such reasonable accommodation requests, which have resulted and may continue to result in litigation. Furthermore, while the airline industry is committed to the safety of our guests and employees and has taken and will continue to take all necessary precautions, there can be no assurance that federal legislation or federal regulation will not be enacted or reinstated that increases our costs, our ongoing compliance burdens, and our exposure to claims of non-compliance.
At this time, we are also not able to predict whether the COVID-19 pandemic will result in permanent changes to our customers’ behavior, including but not limited to such changes as a lasting or permanent reduction in leisure travel and more broadly a general reluctance to travel by consumers, each of which could have a material impact on our business. The COVID-19 pandemic produced certain trends, which have and could have an effect on our operations:
•Travelers have indicated they are wary of airports and commercial aircraft, where they may view the risk of contagion as increased; and
•Travelers may be dissuaded from flying due to restrictions on movement and possible enhanced COVID-19-related screening measures which have been or may be implemented across multiple markets we serve.
•Demand for travel may fluctuate based on current levels of COVID-19 or other infection.
The COVID-19 pandemic or similar events may also affect our operating and financial results in ways that are not presently known to us or that we currently do not expect. The COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including, but not limited to, our dependence on leisure travel to Hawai'i, our competitiveness, demand for air travel generally and our services specifically, shifting consumer preferences and our substantial outstanding indebtedness.
ECONOMIC RISKS
Our business is affected by global economic volatility, including the current economic downturn.
Our business and results of operations are significantly impacted by general world-wide economic conditions, including the current economic downturn. Our business depends on the demand for travel to, from and within the Hawaiian Islands and such demand for discretionary air travel remains unpredictable. Further deterioration or instability in demand, including resulting from travel restrictions or recommendations or vaccine mandates, ongoing economic uncertainty or further recession may result in sustained reduction in our passenger traffic and/or increased competitive pressure on fares in the markets we serve, which could continue to negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that we will be able to offset such revenue reductions by reducing our costs or seeking additional federal payroll support relief or other
potential financing arrangements or other programs or opportunities. We also may not have sufficient cash flows to support our debt obligations.
Our business is highly dependent on tourism to, from, and amongst the Hawaiian Islands and our financial results have been impacted and may continue to be impacted by the current and any future downturn in tourism levels.
Our principal base of operations is in Hawai'i and our revenue is linked primarily to the number of travelers (mainly tourists) to, from and amongst the Hawaiian Islands. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and government mandates related to travel and business operations, we experienced a significant decline in the demand for travel to, from and amongst the Hawaiian Islands. The State of Hawai'i continued to impose quarantine, testing and vaccination requirements through most of the first quarter of 2022, and foreign governments restrictions remain in effect for international travelers. There can be no assurance whether, at some point, the State of Hawai'i may reinstate travel restrictions, the Safe Travels Program or vaccination exemptions from pre-travel testing and quarantine requirements, or whether federal quarantine requirements could be modified or expanded should the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic worsen. While travel restrictions have eased somewhat with the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, certain restrictions, including with respect to the use of COVID-19 testing and vaccination exemptions, may be reinstated, or altered, as the infection rates of COVID-19 change, which may have a significant impact on our business operations. Furthermore, statements by public officials urging residents and travelers to reduce or limit travel to Hawai'i or other markets to which we fly could have a significant impact on tourism and our business operations. Additionally, even with the lifting of restrictions associated with travel to and between the Hawaiian Islands, we expect to continue to experience depressed levels of passenger traffic and revenue, as compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, particularly with respect to international markets due to delays in resumption of international travel. We will need to incur costs as we further increase our number of flights as passenger traffic to and within the Hawaiian Islands increases, which we will incur before the anticipated additional revenue is earned.
Hawai'i tourism levels are generally affected by the economic and political climate impacting air travel and tourism markets generally, including the availability of hotel accommodations, the popularity of tourist destinations relative to other vacation destinations, and other global factors including health crises, natural disasters, safety, and security. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant decline in air travel due to government mandates and general public health concerns. Additionally, tourism has declined as various public events, attractions and venues have been closed or cancelled. While we have seen some increased tourism activity in the state of Hawai'i, we cannot predict if and when tourism levels will recover to levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, from time to time, various events and industry-specific problems such as labor strikes have had a negative impact on tourism generally or in Hawai'i specifically. The occurrence of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, in Hawai'i or other parts of the world, could also have an adverse effect or compound the existing adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic or economic downturn on tourism. In addition, the potential or actual occurrence of terrorist attacks, wars, and/or the threat of other negative world events have had, and may in the future have, a material adverse effect on or compound the current effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism.
Our business is highly dependent on the price and availability of fuel.
Our results and operations are heavily impacted by the price and availability of jet fuel. The cost of jet fuel remains high and the availability of jet fuel remains volatile. The cost and availability of jet fuel are subject to political, economic, and market factors that are generally outside of our control, including those related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Prices may be affected by many factors including, without limitation, the impact of political instability, crude oil production and refining capacity, unexpected changes in the availability of petroleum products due to disruptions to distribution systems or refineries, unpredicted increases in demand due to weather or the pace of global economic growth, inventory reserve levels of crude oil and other petroleum products, the relative fluctuation between the U.S. dollar and other major currencies, and the actions of speculators in commodity markets. Because of the effects of these factors on the price and availability of jet fuel, the cost and future availability of fuel cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. Also, due to the competitive nature of the airline industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to increase our fares or other fees to sufficiently offset any increase in fuel prices.
While we may enter into derivative agreements to protect against the volatility of fuel costs, there is no assurance that such agreements will protect us during unfavorable market conditions or that counterparties will be able to perform under these hedge arrangements.
See Item 7A “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 for further information regarding our exposure to the price of fuel.
Our business is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our business had been expanding internationally with an increasing percentage of our passenger revenue generated from our International routes. The fluctuation of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies can significantly affect our results of operations and financial condition. To manage the effects of fluctuating exchange rates, we periodically enter into foreign currency forward contracts and execute payment of expenditures in those locations in local currency. As of June 30, 2022, we have Japanese Yen denominated debt totaling $171.0 million. If our business continues to expand internationally, there is no assurance that these agreements will protect us against foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations during unfavorable market conditions or that our counterparties will be able to perform under these hedge arrangements.
See Item 7A “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 for further information regarding our exposure to foreign currency exchange rates.
LIQUIDITY RISKS
Our financial liquidity could be adversely affected by credit market conditions.
Our business requires access to capital markets to finance equipment purchases, including aircraft, and to provide liquidity in seasonal or cyclical periods of weaker revenue generation. In particular, we will face specific funding requirements with respect to our obligation under purchase agreements with Boeing to acquire new aircraft. We may finance these upcoming aircraft deliveries; however, the unpredictability of global credit market conditions, including related to the current COVID-19 pandemic, may adversely affect the availability of financing or may result in unfavorable terms and conditions.
Our current unencumbered aircraft can be financed to increase our liquidity, but such financings may be subject to unfavorable terms. In light of current market conditions, any such financings are likely to reflect loan-to-value ratios and interest rates and other terms and conditions less favorable than our recent aircraft financings.
Additionally, there can be no assurance that we will not face credit rating downgrades as a result of weaker than anticipated performance of our business or other factors. Future downgrades could adversely affect our cost of funds and related margins, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital markets.
We can offer no assurance that financing we may need in the future will be available when required or that the economic terms on which it is available will not adversely affect our financial condition. If we cannot obtain financing or we cannot obtain financing on commercially reasonable terms, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Our debt could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition, and include covenants that impose restrictions on our financial and business operations.
As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $1.5 billion in outstanding commercial debt, excluding funds borrowed under the federal PSP. Our debt and related covenants could:
•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our debt, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow for other operational purposes;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
•limit, along with the financial and other restrictive covenants in the agreements governing our debt, our ability to borrow additional funds;
•place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to other less leveraged competitors and competitors with debt agreements on more favorable terms than us; and
•adversely affect our ability to secure additional financing in the future on acceptable terms or at all, which would impact our ability to fund our working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate purpose needs.
These agreements require us to meet certain covenants. If we breach any of these covenants we could be in a default under these facilities, which could cause our outstanding obligations under these facilities to accelerate and become due and payable immediately, and could also cause us to default under our other debt or lease obligations and lead to an acceleration of the obligations related to such other debt or lease obligations. The existence of such a default could also preclude us from borrowing funds under other credit facilities.
Our ability to comply with the provisions of financing agreements can be affected by events beyond our control and a default under any such financing agreements if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on us. In the event our debt is accelerated, we may not have sufficient liquidity to repay these obligations or to refinance our debt obligations, resulting in a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
We have entered into agreements with the Treasury pursuant to the CARES Act, the CAA 2021 and the ARP 2021 that have certain operating and other restrictions.
As a condition of receiving grants and loans under the Payroll Support Program 3 Agreement with the Treasury (the PSP3 Agreement), we agreed to, among other things: refrain from conducting involuntary furloughs or reducing employee rates of pay or benefits through the later of September 30, 2021 or the date on which we have expended all PSP funds; limit executive compensation through April 2023; suspend payment of dividends and stock repurchases through September 30, 2022; and comply with certain reporting requirements. We were also required to continue to provide air service to markets served prior to March 1, 2020 until March 1, 2022, to the extent determined reasonable and practicable by the DOT and subject to exemptions granted to us by the DOT given the absence of demand for such services.
The restrictions placed on us as part of our participation in the PSP and subsequent extensions thereof, including restrictions on use of funds, staffing, pay reduction, stock buy-backs, dividends, certain transactions, and service requirements may negatively affect our financial and business operations.
We are required to maintain reserves under our credit card processing agreements which could adversely affect our financial and business operations.
Under our bank-issued credit card processing agreements, certain proceeds from advance ticket sales may be held back to serve as collateral to cover any possible chargebacks or other disputed charges that may occur. As of June 30, 2022, there were no holdbacks held by our credit card processors.
In the event of a material adverse change in our business, the holdback could incrementally increase to an amount up to 100% of the applicable credit card activity for all unflown flights, which would also cause an increase in the level of restricted cash. If we are unable to obtain a waiver, or otherwise mitigate the increase in restricted cash, it could adversely affect our liquidity and also cause a covenant violation under other debt or lease obligations and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT RISKS
We operate in an extremely competitive environment.
The airline industry is characterized by low profit margins, high fixed costs, and significant price competition. We compete with other airlines on all of our Domestic and International routes. The commencement of, or increase in, service on our routes by existing or new carriers at aggressive prices could negatively impact our operating results, including as demand for air travel rebuilds. Most of our competitors are much larger and have greater financial resources and brand recognition than we do. Moreover, competitors or potential competitors may merge or enter alliances that increase their financial resources and other strategic advantages. Aggressive marketing tactics or a prolonged fare competition initiated by one or more of these competitors could adversely affect our financial resources and our ability to compete in these markets. Additionally, our competitors have been and may continue to be more successful in navigating the challenges related to COVID-19, including having easier access to additional capital and more favorable lending terms, which could impact our ability to compete successfully in the future. Since airline markets have few natural barriers to entry, we also face the constant threat of new entrants in all of our markets.
Additional capacity to or within Hawai'i, whether from network carriers or low-cost carriers, could decrease our share of the markets in which we operate, could cause a decline in our yields, or both, including in light of industry-wide reductions in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Inflation may adversely affect us by increasing costs beyond what we can recover through price increases .
Recently, inflation has increased throughout the U.S. economy. Inflation can adversely affect us by increasing the costs of labor, fuel, and other costs as well as by reducing demand for air travel. In an inflationary environment, depending on airline industry and other economic conditions, we may be unable to raise prices enough to keep up with the rate of inflation, which
would reduce our profit margins. We have experienced, and continue to experience, increases in the prices of labor, fuel and other costs of providing service. Continued inflationary pressures could impact our profitability.
Interest rate increases may adversely affect the fair value of our investments
Interest rates have reduced and could continue to reduce, the fair value of our investments. Reductions in the fair value of our investments could have a negative impact on our earnings and liquidity..
The concentration of our business within Hawai'i, and between Hawai'i and the U.S. mainland, provides little diversification of our revenue and could be exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the three months ended June 30, 2022, approximately 92.4% of our passenger revenue was generated from our Domestic routes. Most of our competitors, particularly major network carriers with whom we compete on North American routes, enjoy greater geographical diversification of their passenger revenue. As Domestic routes account for a significantly higher proportion of our revenue than they do for most of our competitors, a proportionately higher decline in demand for our domestic routes generally due to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a relatively greater adverse effect on our financial results than on those of our competitors. Additionally, reductions in the level of demand for travel to, from, and within Hawai'i, such as those caused by government restrictions on travel to and business operations within Hawai'i, have reduced the revenue we are able to generate from our routes and adversely affected our financial results. Sustained reduction in our Domestic routes and continued industry capacity of major network carriers on routes to, from and within Hawai'i is likely to continue to adversely affect our financial results.
Our business is affected by the competitive advantages held by network carriers in the North America market.
The majority of competition on our North America routes is from network carriers such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, all of whom have a number of competitive advantages. Primarily, network carriers generate passenger traffic from and throughout the U.S. mainland, which enables them to attract higher customer traffic levels as compared to us.
In contrast, we lack a comparable direct network to feed passengers to our North America flights and are therefore more reliant on passenger demand in the specific cities we serve. We also rely on our code-share partner agreements (e.g. with JetBlue) to provide customers access to and from North American destinations currently unserved by us. Most network carriers operate from hubs, which can provide a built-in market of passengers depending on the economic strength of the hub city and the size of the customer group that frequents the airline. Our Honolulu and Maui hubs do not originate a large proportion of North American travel, nor do they have the population or potential customer franchise of a larger city to provide us with a significant built-in market. Passengers in the North American market, for the most part, do not originate in Honolulu, but on the U.S. mainland, making Honolulu primarily a destination rather than an origin of passenger traffic.
Our North American and Neighbor Island routes are affected by increased capacity provided by our competitors.
During the three months ended June 30, 2022, approximately 75.0% and 17.4% of our passenger revenue was generated from our North America and Neighbor Island routes, respectively. Prior to, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, certain of our competitors increased capacity to and within Hawai'i by introducing new routes and increasing the frequency of existing routes from North America to Hawai'i and by the introduction of additional flights within the neighbor islands. We are unable to predict competitor capacity related to air travel to Hawai'i or between the neighbor islands, including any impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on such capacity. Any increased competitor capacity that decreases our share of traffic to Hawai'i or between the neighbor islands could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our International routes are affected by competition from domestic and foreign carriers.
During the three months ended June 30, 2022, approximately 7.6% of our passenger revenue was generated from our International routes. When our operations are not constrained by restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, our competitors on these routes include both domestic and foreign carriers. Both domestic and foreign competitors have a number of competitive advantages that may enable them to attract higher customer traffic levels as compared to us.
Many of our domestic competitors are members of airline alliances, which provide customers access to each participating airline’s international network, allowing for convenience and connectivity to their destinations. These alliances formed by our domestic competitors have increased in recent years. In some instances, our domestic competitors have been granted antitrust
exemptions to form joint venture arrangements in certain geographies, further deepening their cooperation on certain routes. To mitigate this risk, we rely on code-share agreements with partner airlines to provide customers access to international destinations currently unserved by us.
Many of our foreign competitors are network carriers that benefit from network feed to support international routes on which we compete. In contrast, we lack a comparable direct network to feed passengers to our international flights, and are therefore more reliant on passenger demand in the specific destinations that we serve. Most network carriers operate from hubs, which can provide a built-in home base market of passengers. Passengers on our International routes, for the most part, do not originate in Hawai'i, but rather internationally, in these foreign carriers’ home bases. We also rely on our code-share agreements and our relationships with travel agencies and wholesale distributors to provide customers access to and from International destinations currently unserved by us.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THIRD-PARTY RISKS
If we do not maintain the privacy and security of personal information or other information relating to our customers or others, or fail to comply with applicable U.S. and foreign privacy, data protection, or data security laws or security standards imposed by our commercial partners, our reputation could be damaged, we could incur substantial additional costs, and we could become subject to litigation or regulatory penalties.
We receive, retain, transmit and otherwise process personal information and other information about our customers and other individuals, including our employees and contractors, and we are subject to increasing legislative, regulatory and customer focus on privacy, data protection, and data security both domestically and internationally. Numerous laws and regulations in the U.S. and in various other jurisdictions in which we operate relate to privacy, data protection, and security, including laws and regulations regarding the collection, processing, storage, sharing, disclosure, use and security of personal information and other data from and about our customers and other individuals. For example, in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective in 2018. The United Kingdom has adopted legislation that substantially implements the GDPR. Additionally, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), effective as of January 1, 2020. Moreover, a new privacy law, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), was approved by California voters in November 2020. The CPRA significantly modifies the CCPA when it becomes effective in most material respects on January 1, 2023. Further, on March 2, 2021, Virginia enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), which takes effect January 1, 2023; on July 7, 2021, Colorado enacted the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), which takes effect July 1, 2023; on March 24, 2022, Utah enacted the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA); and on May 10, 2022, Connecticut enacted An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring (CTDPA), which will take effect on July 1, 2023. The CDPA, CPA, UCPA, and CTDPA are comprehensive privacy statutes that share similarities with the CCPA, CPRA and legislation proposed in other states. The GDPR and CCPA, and new and evolving laws such as the CPRA, CDPA, CPA, UCPA, CTDPA, and other future changes in laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and information security may require us to modify our existing practices with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of data. In particular, the GDPR provides for significant penalties in the case of non-compliance of up to €20 million or four percent of worldwide annual revenues, whichever is greater. The United Kingdom legislation implementing the GDPR provides for a similar penalty structure. The GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, CDPA, CPA, UCPA, CTDPA, and other existing and proposed laws and regulations can be costly to comply with and can delay or impede our processing of data, result in negative publicity, increase our operating costs and subject us to claims or other remedies. The scope of laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, and security is changing, subject to differing interpretations, may be costly to comply with, and may be inconsistent among countries and jurisdictions or conflict with other obligations of ours.
A number of our commercial partners, including payment card companies, have imposed data security standards or other obligations relating to privacy, data protection, or data security upon us. We strive to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and contractual and other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security. However, these legal, contractual, and other obligations may be interpreted and applied in new ways and/or in manners that are inconsistent, and may conflict with other rules or practices. Data privacy, data protection, and data security are active areas, with laws and regulations in these areas being frequently proposed, enacted, and amended, and existing laws and regulations subject to differing and evolving interpretations. New laws and regulations in these areas likely will continue to be enacted.
Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with laws or regulations, our privacy or data protection policies, or other actual or asserted privacy-, data protection-, or information security-related obligations to customers or other third parties, or any actual or perceived compromise of security that results in the unauthorized disclosure, transfer, loss, unavailability, use, or other processing of personal or other information, may result in governmental investigations and enforcement actions, governmental or private litigation, other liability, our loss of the ability to process payment card transactions, or us becoming subject to higher costs for such transactions, or public statements critical of us by consumer advocacy groups, competitors, the media or others that could cause our current or prospective customers to lose trust in us, any of which could have an adverse effect on our
business. Additionally, if third-party business partners that we work with, such as vendors, violate or are alleged to violate applicable laws, applicable policies or other privacy-, data protection-, or security-related obligations, such violations may also put our customers’ or others’ information at risk and could in turn have an adverse effect on our business. Governmental agencies may also request or take customer data for national security or informational purposes, and also can make data requests in connection with criminal or civil investigations or other matters, which could harm our reputation and our business.
We will continue our efforts to comply with new and increasing privacy, data protection, and information security obligations; however, it is possible that such obligations may require us to expend additional resources, and may be difficult or impossible for us to meet. Any failure to comply with applicable U.S. or foreign privacy, data protection, or data security laws or regulations, any privacy or security standards imposed by our commercial partners, or any other obligations we are or may become subject to relating to privacy, data protection, or information security, or any allegation or assertion relating to any of the foregoing may result in claims, regulatory investigations and proceedings, private litigation and proceedings, and other liability, all of which may adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our actual or perceived failure to protect customer information or other personal information or confidential information could result in harm to our business.
Our business and operations involve the storage, transmission and processing of information about our customers, our employees and contractors, our business partners, and others, as well as our own confidential information. We have been and may become the target of cyber-attacks by third parties seeking unauthorized access to any of these types of information or to disrupt our business or operations. Ransomware and other malware, viruses, fraudulent sales of frequent flier miles, and general hacking have become more prevalent in our industry. While we have taken steps to protect customer information and other confidential information to which we have access, there can be no assurance that any security measures that we or our third-party service providers have implemented will be effective against current or future security threats. We and our third-party service providers may be unable to anticipate attempted security breaches and to implement adequate preventative measures, and our security measures or those of our third-party service providers could be breached or otherwise compromised, we could suffer data loss, corruption, or unavailability, unauthorized access to or use of the systems or networks used in our business and operations, and unauthorized, accidental, or unlawful access to, or disclosure, modification, misuse, loss, unavailability, destruction, or other unauthorized processing of our or our customers’ information. We may also experience security breaches or other incidents that may remain undetected for an extended period. Further, third parties may also conduct attacks designed to disrupt or deny access to the systems and networks used in our business and operations.
Actual or perceived security breaches or other security incidents could result in unauthorized use of or access to systems and networks, unauthorized, accidental, or unlawful access to, or disclosure, modification, misuse, loss or destruction of, our or our customers’ information, and may lead to litigation, claims, indemnity obligations, regulatory investigations and other proceedings, severe reputational damage adversely affecting customer or investor confidence and causing damage to our brand, indemnity obligations, disruption to our operations, damages for contract breach, and other liability, and may adversely affect our revenues and operating results. Additionally, our service providers may suffer security breaches or other incidents that may result in unauthorized access or otherwise compromise data stored or processed for us that may give rise to any of the foregoing.
Any such actual or perceived security breach or other incident may lead to the expenditure of significant financial and other resources in efforts to investigate or correct a breach or other incident, address and eliminate vulnerabilities, and to prevent future security breaches or incidents, as well as significant costs for remediation that may include liability for stolen assets or information and repair of system damage that may have been caused, incentives offered to customers or other business partners in an effort to maintain business relationships after a breach, costs in connection with payment card replacement, and other liabilities. Certain breaches affecting payment card information or the environment in which such information is processed may also result in a loss of our ability to process credit cards or increased costs associated with doing so. We have incurred and expect to incur ongoing expenditures in an effort to prevent information security breaches and other security incidents.
We cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for information security liabilities actually incurred or to cover any indemnification claims against us relating to any incident. Furthermore, we cannot be certain that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, operating results, and reputation.
We are increasingly dependent on technology and automated systems to operate our business.
We depend heavily on technology and automated systems to effectively operate our business. These systems include flight operations systems, communications systems, airport systems, reservations systems, management and accounting systems, commercial websites, including www.hawaiianairlines.com, and other IT systems, many of which must be able to accommodate high traffic volumes, maintain secure information and provide accurate flight information, as well as process critical financial transactions. Any substantial, extended, or repeated failures of these systems could negatively affect our customer service, compromise the security of customer information or other information stored on, transmitted by, or otherwise processed by these systems, result in the loss of or damage to important data, loss of revenue and increased costs, and generally harm our business. Additionally, loss of key talent required to maintain and advance these systems could have a material impact on our operations. Like other companies, our systems may be vulnerable to disruptions due to events beyond our control, including natural disasters, power disruptions, software or equipment failures, terrorist attacks, cybersecurity incursions, computer viruses and hackers. There can be no assurance that the measures we have taken to reduce the adverse effects of certain potential failures or disruptions are adequate to prevent or remedy disruptions of our systems or prevent or mitigate all attacks. In addition, we will need to continuously make significant investments in technology to periodically upgrade and replace existing systems. If we are unable to make these investments or fail to successfully implement, upgrade or replace our systems, including our transition to the Amadeus Altéa Passenger Service System announced in December 2021, our business could be adversely impacted. We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to our business, results of operations and financial condition that may result from system interruptions or system failures.
We are highly reliant on third-party contractors to provide certain facilities and services for our operations, and termination of our third-party agreements could have a potentially adverse effect on our financial results.
There are a limited number of qualified employees and personnel in the airline and information technology industry, especially within the Hawai'i market. Due to these limitations, we have historically relied on outside vendors for a variety of services and functions critical to our business, including aircraft maintenance and parts, code-sharing, reservations, computer services including hosting and software maintenance, accounting, frequent flyer programs, passenger processing, ground facilities, baggage and cargo handling, personnel training, and the distribution and sale of airline seats. Our reliance on outside vendors may continue to increase in the future.
The failure of any of our third-party service providers to adequately perform their service obligations, or other interruptions of services, including those related to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses, are likely to reduce our revenues, increase expenses, and/or prevent us from operating our flights and providing other services to our customers. Additionally, our business and financial performance would be materially harmed if our customers believe that our services are unreliable or unsatisfactory.
LABOR RELATIONS AND RELATED COSTS RISKS
We are dependent on satisfactory labor relations.
Labor costs are a significant component of airline expenses and can substantially impact an airline’s results of operations. A significant portion of our workforce is represented by labor unions. We may make strategic and operational decisions that may require the consent of one or more of these labor unions, and these labor unions could demand additional wages, benefits or other consideration in return for their consent.
In addition, we have entered into collective bargaining agreements with our pilots, mechanical group employees, clerical group employees, flight attendants, and dispatchers. We cannot ensure that future agreements with our employees’ labor unions will be on terms in line with our expectations or comparable to agreements entered into by our competitors, and any future agreements may increase our labor costs or otherwise adversely affect our business. For example, in February 2022, representatives of our IAM-M and IAM-C employees ratified an amended CBA, which included scheduled pay table increases, a signing bonus, improved health benefits and cost sharing, as well as a Health Retirement Account (HRA) for retirees.
Our operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel and key executives.
We believe that our future success is dependent on the knowledge and expertise of our key executives and highly qualified management, technical, and other personnel. Attracting and retaining such personnel in the airline industry is highly competitive. We cannot be certain that we will be able to retain our key executives or attract other qualified personnel in the future, including in light of the restrictions on executive compensation imposed on us under the PSP and subsequent extensions thereof. Any inability to retain our key executives, or other senior technical personnel, or attract and retain additional qualified executives, could have a negative impact on our operations.
In addition, as we rebuild our operations as passenger demand recovers, and expand our operations through the acquisition of new aircraft and introduction of service to new markets, it may be challenging to attract a sufficient number of qualified personnel including pilots, mechanics and other skilled labor. As we compete with other carriers for qualified personnel, we also face the challenge of attracting individuals who embrace our team-oriented, friendly and customer-driven corporate culture. Our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel who embrace our corporate culture could have a negative impact on our reputation and overall operations.
STRATEGY AND BRAND RISKS
Our failure to successfully implement our route and network strategy could harm our business.
Our route and network strategy (how we determine to deploy our fleet) includes initiatives to increase revenue, decrease costs, mature our network, and improve distribution of our sales channels. It is critical that we execute upon our planned strategy in order for our business to attain economies of scale and to sustain or improve our results of operations. If we are unable to utilize and fill increased capacity provided by additional aircraft entering our fleet, hire and retain skilled personnel, or secure the required equipment and facilities in a cost-effective manner, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may be unable to successfully develop and grow our new and existing markets, which may adversely affect our business and operations.
We continue to strive toward aggressive cost-containment goals which are an important part of our business strategy to offer the best value to passengers through competitive fares while maintaining acceptable profit margins and return on capital. We believe a lower cost structure will better position us to fund our strategy and take advantage of market opportunities. If we are unable to adequately contain our non-fuel unit costs, our financial results may suffer.
Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financial results.
Maintaining a good reputation globally is critical to our business. Our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by, among other things, any failure to maintain our safety record, our high ethical, social and environmental sustainability practices for all of our operations and activities, our impact on the environment, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, such as initiatives to address climate change, customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. Damage to our reputation or brand image or loss of customer confidence in our services could adversely affect our business and financial results, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.
We also increasingly use social media to communicate news and events. The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of certain platforms or outlets could damage our brand image and reputation, and could lead to a loss of goodwill with our customers and stakeholders. Inappropriate or unauthorized use of social media could have legal implications if, for example, employees improperly collect or disseminate personally identifiable information of employees, customers or other stakeholders. Further, disclosure of our non-public information by our employees or others, whether intentional or unintentional, through social media could lead to information loss.
Moreover, the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 have adversely impacted consumer perceptions of the health and safety of travel, and in particular airline travel, and these negative perceptions could continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Actual or perceived risk of infection while traveling could have a material adverse effect on the public’s perception of us, which could harm our reputation and business. We have taken various measures to reassure our team members and the traveling public of the safety of air travel, such as the provisioning of protective equipment for team members and enhanced cleaning procedures onboard aircraft and in airports. We may continue to incur costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic to sanitize aircraft, implement additional hygiene-related protocols and take other actions to limit the threat of infection among our employees and passengers. However, we cannot assure that these or any other actions we might take in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be sufficient to restore the confidence of consumers in the safety of air travel.
Our reputation and financial results could be harmed in the event of adverse publicity, such as in the event of an aircraft accident or incident, or if we are unable to achieve certain sustainability goals.
Our customer base is broad and our business activities have significant prominence, particularly in Hawai'i and other destinations we serve. Consequently, negative publicity resulting from real or perceived shortcomings in our customer service, employee relations, business conduct, third-party aircraft components or other events or circumstances affecting our operations
could negatively affect the public image of our company and the willingness of customers to purchase services from us, which could affect our financial results.
Additionally, we are exposed to potential losses that may be incurred in the event of an aircraft accident or incident. Any such accident or incident involving our aircraft or an aircraft operated by one of our code-share partners could involve not only the repair or replacement of a damaged aircraft or aircraft parts, and its consequential temporary or permanent loss of revenue, but also significant claims of injured passengers and others. We are required by the DOT to carry liability insurance, and although we currently maintain liability insurance in amounts consistent with the industry, we cannot be assured that our insurance coverage will adequately cover us from all claims and we may be forced to bear substantial losses incurred with an accident. In addition, any aircraft accident or incident could cause a public perception that we are less safe or reliable than other airlines, which would harm our business.
The airline industry is also subject to increasing scrutiny for its greenhouse gas emissions and impact on the environment. We are investing and intend to continue to invest towards achieving our environmental goals. While we are working to achieve our environmental goals, our sustainability plans and our ability to execute those sustainability plans are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including ongoing support from governments and other third-parties, the need for significant capital investment, and research and development as well as commercialization of new technologies. There can be no guarantee that we can achieve any or all of our environmental goals, and our brand, reputation and financial results may be harmed as a result of our inability to achieve such goals.
AIRLINE INDUSTRY, REGULATION AND RELATED COSTS RISKS
The airline industry has substantial operating leverage and is affected by many conditions that are beyond its control, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations.
Due to the substantial fixed costs associated with operating an airline, there is a disproportionate relationship between the cost of operating each flight and the number of passengers carried. However, the revenue generated from a particular flight is directly related to the number of passengers carried and the respective average fares applied. Accordingly, a decrease in the number of passengers carried and, when applicable, the aggregate effect of decreasing flights scheduled, causes a corresponding decrease in revenue that is likely to result in a disproportionately greater decrease in profits. Therefore, the reduction in airline passenger traffic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and any future reductions as a result of the following or other factors, which are largely outside of our control, will likely harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations:
•decline in general economic conditions;
•threat of terrorist attacks and conflicts overseas;
•actual or threatened war and political instability;
•increased security measures or breaches in security;
•adverse weather and natural disasters;
•changes in consumer preferences, perceptions, or spending patterns;
•increased costs related to security and safety measures;
•increased fares as a result of increases in fuel costs;
•outbreaks of contagious diseases or fear of contagion; and
•congestion or major construction at airports and actual or potential disruptions in the air traffic control system.
Our results of operations are and may continue to be volatile due to the conditions identified above. We cannot ensure that our financial resources will be sufficient to absorb the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or any unexpected events, including those identified above.
Our operations may be disrupted if we are unable to obtain and maintain adequate facilities and infrastructure at airports within the state of Hawai'i.
We must be able to maintain and/or obtain adequate gates, maintenance capacity, office space, operations areas, and ticketing facilities, especially at airports within the state of Hawai'i, to be able to operate our existing and proposed flight schedules. Failure to maintain such facilities and infrastructure may adversely impact our operations and financial performance.
Our business is subject to substantial seasonal and cyclical volatility.
Our results of operations reflect the impact of seasonal volatility primarily due to passenger leisure and holiday travel patterns. Because of fluctuations in our results from seasonality, operating results for a historical period are not necessarily indicative of
operating results for a future period and operating results for an interim period are not necessarily indicative of operating results for an entire year. Moreover, due to the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for air travel generally and travel to and within Hawai'i specifically, we have seen significant declines in demand for air travel in 2020, 2021m and 2022 to-date as compared to prior years. As Hawai'i is a popular vacation destination, demand from North America, our largest source of visitors, is typically stronger during the months of June, July, August and December and considerably weaker at other times of the year.
Terrorist attacks or international hostilities, or the fear of terrorist attacks or hostilities, even if not made directly on the airline industry, could negatively affect us and the airline industry.
Terrorist attacks, even if not made directly on the airline industry, or the fear of such attacks, hostilities or act of war, could adversely affect the airline industry, including us, and could result in a significant decrease in demand for air travel, increased security costs, increased insurance costs covering war-related risks, and increased flight operational loss due to cancellations and delays. Any future terrorist attacks or the implementation of additional security-related fees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and on the airline industry in general.
The airline industry is subject to extensive government regulation, new regulations, and taxes which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory requirements that result in significant costs. New, and modifications to existing, laws, regulations, taxes and airport rates, and charges imposed by domestic and foreign governments have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations, restrict operations or reduce revenue. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from time to time issues directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require significant expenditures. Some FAA requirements cover, among other things, retirement of older aircraft, security measures, aircraft landing safety measures, including with respect to the interaction of aircraft systems with new technologies such as 5G C-band service, collision avoidance systems, airborne windshear avoidance systems, noise abatement and other environmental concerns, commuter aircraft safety and increased inspections, and maintenance procedures to be conducted on older aircraft. A failure to be in compliance, or a modification, suspension or revocation of any of our DOT/FAA authorizations or certificates, would have a material adverse impact on our operations.
We cannot predict the impact that laws or regulations may have on our operations, nor can we ensure that laws or regulations enacted in the future will not adversely affect our business. Further, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain necessary governmental approvals. Once obtained, operating permits are subject to modification and revocation by the issuing agencies. Compliance with these and any future regulatory requirements could require us to incur significant capital and operating expenditures.
In addition to extensive government regulations, the airline industry is dependent on certain services provided by government agencies (DOT, FAA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)). Furthermore, because of significantly higher security and other costs incurred by airports since September 11, 2001, many airports have significantly increased their rates and charges to airlines, including us, and may continue to do so in the future.
We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including increased regulation of our CO2 emissions and the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure.
There is increasing global regulatory focus on climate change and emissions of greenhouse gases, including CO2. In particular, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is in the process of adopting rules, including the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), of which the U.S. federal government has opted to participate in the voluntary phases from 2021-2026. As part of the CORSIA program, we are currently monitoring our international emissions for reporting purposes, and such data will be used in calculations to determine subsequent carbon offsetting requirements under the CORSIA program. At this time, we cannot predict the costs of complying with any future obligations under the CORSIA program. Regardless of the method of regulation or application of CORSIA, further policy changes with regard to climate change are possible, which could increase operating costs in the airline industry and, as a result, adversely affect our operations.
In the event that CORSIA does not come into force as expected, we and other airlines could become subject to an unpredictable and inconsistent array of national or regional emissions restrictions, creating a patchwork of complex regulatory requirements that may affect global competitors differently. Concerns over climate change may result in the adoption of municipal, state, regional, and federal requirements or in changing business environments that may result in increased costs to the airline industry and us. In addition, several countries and U.S. states have adopted or are considering adopting programs to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. On January 20, 2021, the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and the current
Presidential administration has made climate change mitigation an important policy priority. For example, on September 9, 2021, the current administration launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenger to scale up the production of sustainable aviation fuel, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by 20% by 2030. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on November 15, 2021, that it would press for ambitious new aircraft greenhouse gas emission standards at international negotiations organized by ICAO in 2022. The current Presidential administration may adopt additional regulatory changes that could impact the airline industry and our business. Moreover, certain airports have adopted, and others could in the future adopt, greenhouse gas emission or climate-neutral goals that could impact our operations or require us to make changes or additional investments in our infrastructure.
All such climate change-related regulatory activity and developments may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offset credits, or otherwise pay for our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs, including fuel costs. We may not be able to increase revenue in proportion with such additional costs.
We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate such physical effects of climate change. We could also experience significant operational disruption and increased costs as a result of increases in the frequency, severity and duration of severe weather events caused by climate change, which could increase the incidence of delays and cancellations, turbulence-related injuries and fuel consumption to avoid such weather. We are not able to accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change.
Federal budget constraints may adversely affect our industry, business, results of operations and financial position.
Many of our airline operations are regulated by governmental agencies, including the FAA, the DOT, the CBP, the TSA, and others. If the federal government were to experience issues in reaching budgetary consensus in the future resulting in mandatory furloughs and/or other budget constraints, our business and results of operations could be materially negatively impacted, including as a result of actual or potential disruption in the air traffic control system, actual or perceived delays at various airports, and delays in deliveries of new aircraft, which may materially adversely impact our industry, our business, results of operations and financial positions.
The airline industry is required to comply with various environmental laws and regulations, which could inhibit our ability to operate and could also have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Many aspects of airlines’ operations are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local, and foreign laws protecting the environment. U.S. federal laws that have a particular impact on us include the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Act and the Compensation and Liability Act. Compliance with these and other environmental laws and regulations can require significant expenditures, and violations can lead to significant fines and penalties. Governments globally are increasingly focusing on the environmental impact caused by the consumption of fossil fuels and as a result have proposed or enacted legislation which may increase the cost of providing airline service or restrict its provision. We expect the focus on environmental matters to increase.
Concern about climate change and greenhouse gases may result in additional regulation of aircraft emissions in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, other legislative or regulatory action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions is possible. At this time, we cannot predict whether any such legislation or regulation would apportion costs between one or more jurisdictions in which we operate flights. We are monitoring and evaluating the potential impact of such legislative and regulatory developments. In addition to direct costs, such regulation may have a greater effect on the airline industry through increases in fuel costs. The impact to us and our industry from such actions is likely to be adverse and could be significant, particularly if regulators were to conclude that emissions from commercial aircraft cause significant harm to the atmosphere or have a greater impact on climate change than other industries.
Our operations may be adversely affected by our expansion into non-U.S. jurisdictions and the related laws and regulations to which we are subject.
The expansion of our operations into non-U.S. jurisdictions has expanded the scope of the laws and regulations to which we are subject, both domestically and internationally. Compliance with the laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions and the restrictions on operations that these laws, regulations or other government actions may impose could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce revenue. For example, various jurisdictions have imposed or are currently imposing restrictions that impede or restrict travel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of our destinations in Asia have
been revising their privacy and consumer laws and regulations. Limitations placed on our business as a result of these or other laws and regulations or failure to comply with evolving laws or regulations could result in significant penalties, criminal charges, costs to defend ourselves in a foreign jurisdiction, restrictions on operations and reputational damage. In addition, we operate flights on international routes regulated by treaties and related agreements between the U.S. and foreign governments, which are subject to change as they may be amended from time to time. Modifications of these arrangements could result in an inability to obtain or retain take-off or landing slots for our routes, route authorization and necessary facilities. Any limitations, additions or modifications to government treaties, agreements, regulations, laws or policies related to our International routes could have a material adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations.
We may be party to litigation or regulatory action in the normal course of business or otherwise, which could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.
From time to time, we are a party to or otherwise involved in legal or regulatory proceedings, claims, government inspections, investigations or other legal matters, both domestically and in foreign jurisdictions, including proceedings related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, due to cancelled or rescheduled flights in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, several U.S. airlines, including us, have been subject to class action complaints citing violation of state consumer statues for allegedly failing or refusing to refund passenger tickets on cancelled flights. We believe we have meritorious defenses and intend to vigorously contest such claims. Resolving or defending legal matters, however, can take months or years. The duration of such matters can be unpredictable with many variables that we do not control including adverse party or government responses. Litigation and regulatory proceedings are subject to significant uncertainty and may be expensive, time-consuming and disruptive to our operations. In addition, an adverse resolution of a lawsuit, regulatory matter, investigation or other proceeding could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We may be required to change or restrict our operations or be subject to injunctive relief, significant compensatory damages, punitive damages, penalties, fines or disgorgement of profits, none of which may be covered by insurance. We may have to pay out settlements that also may not be covered by insurance. There can be no assurance that any of these payments or actions will not be material. In addition, publicity of ongoing legal and regulatory matters may adversely affect our reputation.
Changes in tax laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial conditions.
The rules dealing with U.S. federal, state and local income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury and state and local tax authorities. Changes in U.S. tax laws or their interpretations (which may have retroactive application) could materially increase the amount of taxes we owe, thereby negatively impacting our results of operations as well as our cash flows from operations. Furthermore, our implementation of new practices and processes designed to comply with changing tax laws and regulations could require us to make substantial changes to our business practices, allocate additional resources, and increase our costs, potentially adversely impacting our business, financial position and results of operations.
As we continue to grow internationally, we may also be subject to taxation in jurisdictions around the world with increasingly complex tax laws, the application of which may be uncertain. The amount of taxes we pay in these jurisdictions could increase substantially as a result of changes in the applicable tax principles, including increased tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations of existing tax laws and precedents, potentially adversely affecting our liquidity and results of operations. In addition, the authorities in these jurisdictions could review our tax returns and impose additional tax, interest and penalties, and the relevant authorities could claim that various withholding requirements apply to us or assert that benefits of tax treaties are not available to us or our subsidiaries, any of which could adversely impact us and our results of operations.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2021, we had NOLs available to reduce future taxable income of approximately $5.4 million for regular federal income tax purposes that have indefinite carryover and approximately $502.0 million for state income tax purposes that will expire, if unused, beginning in 2024. The majority of our state NOLs relate to the state of Hawai'i, most of which have indefinite carryover, but are limited to 80% utilization.
Our ability to use our NOLs will depend on the amount of taxable income generated in future periods. If our financial results continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance that an increase in the valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets will not be required in the future. Such valuation allowance could be material. Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic factors, the NOLs may expire before we can generate sufficient taxable income to use them.
Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change NOLs to offset its post-change income may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” will occur if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5-percent shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. Our ability to use NOLs to reduce future taxable income and liabilities may be subject to annual limitations as a result of prior ownership changes and ownership changes that may occur in the future.
Our insurance costs are susceptible to significant increases, and further increases in insurance costs or reductions in coverage could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
We carry types and amounts of insurance customary in the airline industry, including coverage for general liability, passenger liability, property damage, aircraft loss or damage, baggage and cargo liability, and workers’ compensation. We are required by the DOT to carry liability insurance on each of our aircraft. We currently maintain commercial airline insurance with a major group of independent insurers that regularly participate in world aviation insurance markets, including public liability insurance and coverage for losses resulting from the physical destruction or damage to our aircraft. However, there can be no assurance that the amount of such coverage will not change or that we will not bear substantial losses from accidents or damage to, or loss of, aircraft or other property due to other factors such as natural disasters. We could incur substantial claims resulting from an accident or damage to, or loss of, aircraft or other property due to other factors such as natural disasters in excess of related insurance coverage that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, increases in our policy premiums as our policies become eligible for renewal.
Extended interruptions or disruptions in service have and could continue to have a material adverse impact on our operations.
Our financial results have been and may continue to be adversely affected by factors outside our control, including, but not limited to, flight cancellations, significant delays in operations, and facility disruptions, such as those caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our principal base of operations is in Hawai'i and a significant interruption or disruption in service has had and may continue to have a serious impact on our business and results of operations. In addition to international health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis, may impact the demand for transportation in the markets in which we operate.
FLEET AND FLEET-RELATED RISKS
We are dependent on our limited number of suppliers for aircraft, aircraft engines and parts.
We are dependent on a limited number of suppliers (e.g. Airbus, Boeing, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney) for aircraft, aircraft engines, and aircraft-related items. We are vulnerable to malfunction, failure or other problems associated with the supply and performance of these aircraft and parts and/or related operational disruptions, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not yet know the full impact of operational disruptions of our suppliers and believe that such disruptions could result in reputational harm, increased parts and maintenance costs, and adverse effects on our financial position and results of operations.
Our agreements to purchase Boeing 787-9 aircraft represent significant future financial commitments and operating costs.
As of June 30, 2022, we had the following firm order commitments and purchase rights for additional aircraft:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Aircraft Type | | Firm Orders | | Purchase Rights | | Expected Delivery Dates |
| A321neo aircraft | | — | | | 9 | | N/A |
| B787-9 aircraft | | 10 | | 10 | | Between 2023 and 2026 |
We have made substantial pre-delivery payments for aircraft under existing purchase agreements and are required to continue these pre-delivery payments as well as make payments for the balance of the purchase price through delivery of each aircraft. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered into an amendment to the Boeing 787-9 purchase agreement on October 26, 2020, which provides for, amongst other things, a change in the aircraft delivery schedule from 2021 through 2025 to 2022 through 2026, with the first delivery scheduled in September 2022. In December 2021, we received notification of further delivery delays of our first two aircraft from the scheduled delivery date at the end of 2022. At this time a firm delivery date of our first two aircraft has not been determined. The remainder of the Boeing 787-9 delivery schedule remains unchanged.
These commitments substantially increase our future capital spending requirements and may require us to increase our level of debt in future years. We are continuing to evaluate our options to finance these commitments. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms, or at all.
Delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries or other loss of fleet capacity may adversely impact our operations and financial results.
The success of our business depends on, among other things, the ability to effectively operate a certain number and type of aircraft. As noted above, we are uncertain about the future of our contractual commitments to purchase additional aircraft for our fleet. Our inability to purchase and introduce new aircraft into our fleet could negatively impact our business, operations and financial performance. Even if we proceed with some or all of our contractual commitments to purchase additional aircraft, delays in scheduled aircraft, due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other circumstances, or our failure to integrate newly purchased aircraft into our fleet as planned may require us to utilize our existing fleet longer than expected. Such extensions may require us to operate existing aircraft beyond the point at which it is economically optimal to retire them, resulting in increased maintenance costs.
We may never realize the full value of our long-lived assets such as aircraft and non-aircraft equipment, resulting in impairment and other related charges that may negatively impact our financial position and results of operations.
Economic and intrinsic triggers, which include the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme fuel price volatility, an uncertain economic and credit environment, unfavorable trends in historical or forecasted results of operations and cash flows, as well as other uncertainties, may cause us to record material impairments of our long-lived assets. Additionally, we could be subject to impairment charges in the future that could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in future periods. The risk of future material impairments has grown significantly as result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business.
As part of our response to COVID-19, discussed above, including substantial capacity reductions and the temporary grounding of the majority of our fleet, as well as reduced cash flow projections, we identified indicators of impairment of our long-lived assets. To determine whether impairment exists for aircraft used in operations, assets are grouped at the fleet-type level (the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows) and future cash flows are estimated based on projections of capacity, passenger mile yield, fuel costs, labor costs and other relevant factors.
As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $13.5 million in indefinite-lived intangible assets subject to impairment. We continue to assess our indefinite-lived intangible assets under a qualitative approach. We analyze market factors to determine if events and circumstances have affected the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets.
Given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to evaluate our current fleet and other long-lived assets for impairment accordingly. As of June 30, 2022, our remaining long-lived assets continued to generate future cash flows from operation of the fleet through the respective retirement dates in excess of their respective carrying values.
COMMON STOCK RISKS
Our share price is subject to fluctuations.
The market price of our stock is influenced by many factors, many of which are outside of our control, and include other factors discussed in the Risk Factors section, as well as the following:
•our operating results and financial condition
•how our operating results and financial condition compare to securities analyst expectations, particularly with respect to metrics for which we do not give guidance, including whether those results significantly fail to meet or exceed securities analyst expectations
•changes in the competitive environment in which we operate
•fuel price volatility including the availability of fuel
•announcements concerning our competitors including bankruptcy filings, mergers, restructurings or acquisitions by other airlines
•increases or changes in government regulation
•general and industry specific market conditions
•changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts
•sales of our common stock or other actions by investors with significant shareholdings
In recent years the stock market has experienced volatile price and volume fluctuations that often have been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These market fluctuations, as well as general economic conditions, may affect the price of our common stock.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against a company following periods of volatility in its stock price. This type of litigation, if filed against us, could result in substantial costs and divert our management's attention and resources. In addition, the future sale of a substantial number of shares of common stock by us or by our existing stockholders may have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock. There can be no assurance that the trading price of our common stock will remain at or near its current level.
We cannot repurchase our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program or pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.
Under the terms of our PSP3 Agreement, we are required to suspend payment of dividends and refrain from engaging in stock repurchases through September 30, 2022. We announced on March 18, 2020 that we suspended stock repurchases under our previously announced repurchase program, which expired on December 31, 2020. As such, we do not currently anticipate any future repurchases under our currently approved repurchase program and we cannot provide any assurance that we will initiate any repurchase program again in the future. Additionally, although we have historically issued quarterly dividends, we cannot provide any assurance that we will declare dividends in the future, even after the PSP restrictions are no longer applicable, based on our operating results, financial condition, capital requirements, and general business conditions.
Our certificate of incorporation includes a provision limiting voting and ownership by non-U.S. citizens and our bylaws include a provision specifying an exclusive forum for stockholder disputes.
To comply with restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, our certificate of incorporation restricts voting of shares of our common stock by non-U.S. citizens. Our certificate of incorporation provides that the failure of non-U.S. citizens to register their shares on a separate stock record, which we refer to as the “foreign stock record,” would result in a suspension of their voting rights in the event that the aggregate foreign ownership of the outstanding common stock exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law.
Our certificate of incorporation further provides that no shares of our common stock will be registered on the foreign stock record if the amount so registered would exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. If it is determined that the amount registered in the foreign stock record exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law, shares will be removed from the foreign stock record in reverse chronological order based on the date of registration therein, until the number of shares registered therein does not exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. As of June 30, 2022, we believe we were in compliance with the foreign ownership rules.
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court lacks jurisdiction, any other state or federal court located in the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws (as each may be amended or restated from time to time); or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Accordingly, stockholders may be limited in the forum in which they are able to pursue legal actions against us.
Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may delay or prevent a change of control, which could materially adversely affect the price of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make it difficult to remove our Board of Directors and management, and may discourage or delay a change of control, which could materially and adversely affect the price of our common stock. These provisions include, among others:
•the ability of our Board of Directors to issue, without further action by the stockholders, series of undesignated preferred stock, or rights to acquire preferred stock, that could dilute the interest of, or impair the voting power of,
holders of our common stock or could also be used as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control;
•advance notice procedures for stockholder proposals to be considered at stockholders’ meetings and for nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors;
•the ability of our Board of Directors to fill vacancies on the board;
•a prohibition against stockholders taking action by written consent;
•a prohibition against stockholders calling special meetings of stockholders; and
•super-majority voting requirements to modify or amend specified provisions of our certificate of incorporation.
If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about us, or if they issue unfavorable commentary about us or our industry or downgrade the outlook of our common stock, the market price of our common stock could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that third-party securities analysts publish about us and our industry. One or more analysts could downgrade the outlook for our common stock or issue other negative commentary about us or our industry. Furthermore, if one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us, we could lose visibility in the market. In addition, analysts and other market observers assessing our performance and prospects will take into account our existing and future amounts of debt, securities offerings, and any offers by us to repurchase our securities. As a result of one or more of these factors, the market price of our common stock could decline and cause you to lose all or a portion of your investment.
RISKS RELATING TO SECURITIES OFFERINGS
In connection with the issuance of Hawaiian’s enhanced equipment trust certificate, our indebtedness and liabilities could limit the cash flow available for our operations, and consequently expose us to risks that could materially adversely affect the resources available to us and Hawaiian to satisfy our obligations under such certificates.
As of June 30, 2022, the outstanding principal balance of our EETC issuance was $195.1 million. Offerings of structured finance securities, such as the EETC Offering may present risks similar to those of the other types of debt obligations in which we or Hawaiian may invest and, in fact, such risks may be of greater significance in the case of such structured finance securities. In addition, the performance of the Certificates will be affected by a variety of factors, including its priority in the capital structure of the issuer thereof, and the availability of any credit enhancement, the level and timing of payments and recoveries on and the characteristics of the underlying receivables, loans or other assets that are being securitized, remoteness of those assets from the originator or transferor, the adequacy of and ability to realize upon any related collateral and the capability of the servicer of the securitized assets. If we or Hawaiian fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under such indebtedness when due, then we or Hawaiian would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in ours or Hawaiian’s other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full.
In connection with the issuance of the senior secured notes due 2026, our indebtedness and liabilities could limit the cash flow available for Hawaiian’s operations, and consequently expose us to risks that could materially adversely affect the resources available to us to satisfy our obligations under the Notes.
In February 2021, we conducted a private offering of 5.75% senior secured notes due 2026 (the Notes) collateralized by certain loyalty and brand assets (Notes Offering). The indebtedness of Hawaiian and its subsidiaries increased significantly as a result of the Notes Offering. As of June 30, 2022, Hawaiian had $1.6 billion of total indebtedness (excluding finance lease obligations of approximately $112.8 million and operating lease obligations of $461.8 million). We incurred $1.2 billion principal amount of indebtedness as a result of the Notes Offering. We may also incur additional indebtedness to meet future financing needs. The indebtedness of Hawaiian and its subsidiaries could have significant negative consequences for our security holders and the resources available to satisfy our obligations under the Notes, including the following:
•greater difficulty satisfying our obligations with respect to the Notes;
•increasing Hawaiian’s vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
•limiting Hawaiian’s ability to obtain additional financing;
•requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of Hawaiian’s cash flow from operations to service Hawaiian’s indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
•limiting Hawaiian’s flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in its business;
•placing Hawaiian at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital; and
•potentially causing Hawaiian’s credit ratings to be reduced and causing our and Hawaiian’s debt and equity securities to significantly decrease in value.
Hawaiian’s business, including the HawaiianMiles Program, may not generate sufficient funds, and we and Hawaiian may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under our and Hawaiian’s indebtedness, including the Notes, and our and Hawaiian’s cash needs may increase in the future. In addition, future indebtedness that we or Hawaiian may incur may contain financial and other restrictive covenants that limit our ability to operate our business, including with respect to the HawaiianMiles Program, raise capital or make payments under our or Hawaiian’s indebtedness. If we or Hawaiian fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under ours or Hawaiian’s indebtedness when due, then we or Hawaiian would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in ours and Hawaiian’s other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full.