Hawaiian Airlines Highlights ESG Priorities

Hawaiian Airlines released its Corporate Kuleana (Responsibility) report for 2023, which outlines the carrier's progress on its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities.

Over the past year, the airline, which is based in Hawaii, has made strides towards achieving its sustainability objectives, including attaining net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, decreasing the use of single-use plastics during cabin service, and providing more locally sourced food options for passengers.

Hawaiian Airlines has created a decarbonisation plan that includes incremental benchmarks for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with a significant emphasis on substituting traditional petroleum jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Beginning in 2029, the airline will purchase 50 million gallons of SAF from Gevo, Inc., a biofuel company. As part of its short-term objectives, the carrier aims to reduce lifecycle jet fuel emissions per revenue tonne mile by 45% by 2035 and substitute 10% of conventional jet fuel with SAF by 2030.

In the welcome message of the Corporate Kuleana Report, Hawaiian Airlines' President and CEO, Peter Ingram, expressed that the targets, particularly those to be achieved within the next ten years, are a call to action for the company to urgently address its carbon emissions. Ingram also emphasised the importance of collaborating with fuel producers, the airline industry, and state and federal governments to expedite the production and distribution of SAF at commercially viable prices.

As part of its efforts to eliminate single-use plastics from in-flight service by 2029, Hawaiian Airlines reduced its use of single-use plastic by 7% per transpacific flight last year compared to the previous year. In addition, the airline has increased the percentage of locally sourced food and beverage products served on flights departing from Hawaii to 32% of its budget. This is an improvement from the 29% reported in 2021 and brings Hawaiian Airlines closer to its goal of spending 40% of its budget on locally sourced products by 2025.

Hawaiian Airlines, which is still recovering from the pandemic's effects, brought on board 1,371 new team members last year. This represents roughly 20% of the airline's year-end workforce of 7,108 employees. All of the airline's union contracts are currently active after Hawaiian Airlines effectively concluded negotiations with all of its labour groups, resulting in significant wage improvements.

As the airline plans for future recruitment needs, it has created several school-to-career pipeline partnerships aimed at encouraging students to pursue careers in aviation and technology. These initiatives expand the airline's access to talent, particularly in Hawaii.

According to its report, Hawaiian expressed its dedication to promoting diversity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging among its employees, which forms a crucial aspect of its hiring and retention policies.

The airline company is continually broadening its search efforts to include well-qualified veterans, women, and other historically marginalised groups. The report further highlighted that 80% of Hawaiian's workforce is racially or ethnically diverse, with 48% being female.

The company was proud to announce that in 2022, it had the highest percentage of female pilots among all major U.S. airlines, exceeding the global average of 5.8% with more than 9.5% of its pilots being women.

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Source: Hawaiian Airlines