HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Hawaiian Airlines (HA) is seeking to fill more than 400 positions in anticipation of what could be a surge of transpacific and interisland travel this summer, while striving to recoup losses incurred for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state’s largest air carrier saw increased demand in the first quarter of 2021, and has been rebuilding its network and workforce to accommodate steadily growing interest in travel. On the island of Maui for instance, Hawaiian is offering a $2,000 sign-on bonus to attract experienced applicants for most jobs on the Valley Isle.
“We aspire to be the employer of choice,” said Robin Kobayashi, Hawaiian’s senior vice president of human resources. “We offer rewarding career opportunities along with generous travel privileges. As businesses recover from the pandemic, the need for qualified workers is increasing. It is imperative that we remain competitive, and we hope our sign-on bonus for positions on Maui generates a lot of interest.”
Hawaiian Airlines currently employs about 6,850 people, more than 90% of whom are based in the state. Most new positions are in airport operations, which include guest service agents, ramp agents, operations managers, and aircraft mechanics in all islands as well as in select cities on the U.S. West Coast where the majority are part-time positions. Full-time opportunities at the company’s corporate headquarters in Honolulu include information technology, marketing, human resources, and sales.
Although Hawaiian recalled nearly all furloughed employees, it is still hiring to backfill vacant positions and to fill openings that support new routes. The company recently launched nonstop services between Honolulu and Orlando, Austin and Ontario, California, and added flights connecting Maui to Long Beach and Phoenix.
“We’re looking for team members who can help us deliver the exceptional service and guest experience that Hawaiian is known for,” added Kobayashi.
At present, the state’s tourism authority is projecting visitor arrivals to reach 6.6 million this year, roughly 64% of the total in 2019. The estimate does not account for international travel, particularly from Hawaii’s largest markets in Japan and Canada.
(With reports from Alfred Acenas EBC Hawaii-Pacific Bureau, Eagle News Service)