The Aviator CEO
Mark Dunkerley is a stunt plane champ, and as CEO of Hawaiian Airlines he’s guiding the iconic airline through its best times — and it’s no trick
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Dunkerley with, from left, Elizabeth Fesolai, Lani
Caetano and Susana Wong
nautics from the Cranfield Institute of Technology in the United Kingdom. His wife, Marilia, is a journalist. (Obviously a brilliant lady.)
He is a licensed commercial pilot and ace acrobatic flyer who has logged more than 1,500 hours in the sky. Considering his trick flying is of 20-40 minutes duration, well, you do that math. But it’s a lot of lifts-off and landings.
It’s prophetic that Hawaiian has a pilot as CEO.
Interestingly, this is a rare among the major carriers. But it can influence the mindset of stakeholders when a true aviator is leading the team.
Dunkerley’s passion for flying began as a child. He traveled between the U.S. East Coast and his native Britain to attend boarding school. “Me and Harry Potter,” he says.
“I always wanted to learn how to fly. Since then I have continued to enjoy every facet of aviation. I also have a real interest in the idea that travel and the interchange of people, one community to another, has huge benefits. Bringing people together heightens understanding of one another and creates, as it does here, an important engine for economic growth,” he states.
With pilot Michael Dau
At Hawaiian, Dunkerley’s passion goes deeper. Pointing to a historic photo of the company’s first aircraft - Sikorsky S-38 amphibian plane - he says, “There is a real element of a sacred trust. We’re part of that sacred trust, and we have a responsibility to foster it, to take care of it, and to let it grow for the benefit of the community.”
Hawaiian’s aviator-CEO has flown everything from hot air balloons to “having a go at the controls of big airliners, and everything in between.”
From the HAL board room on Koapaka Street, he points to a private hangar where he keeps a Giles 202 aerobatic airplane, flown by the world’s top competitor pilots.
Dunkerley was the U.S. northeast region advanced aerobatic champion in 2002.
Maneuvering rolls, corkscrews and dives is likely good practice for steering a company through bankruptcy, we suggest.
Dunkerley laughs and recommends that more airline CEOs should try it.
But he’s quick to give credit to the unrelenting stamina and dedication of Hawaiian’s 3,300 employees.
“I’m proud of the fact that the Hawaiian Airlines ohana surmounted these challenges,” its CEO beams. “It was accomplished by teamwork, caring for customers, and a real focus on getting to the top.
“Many times over the past 10 years, our employees could have simply given up. But they stuck with it, and they have given their best to Hawaiian’s survival.”
The result is Hawaiian’s remarkable financial and operational turnaround, two most profitable years in its history, and a host of industry-recognized achievements.
The company reversed a $55 million operating loss in 2002 into a $77 million operating profit in 2003 - a $132 million improvement - then followed that up with a $71 million operating profit in 2004.
In July 2005, Hawaiian’s turnaround earned it the Airline Strategy Award for Finance, beating out all other airlines worldwide.
Last year, despite increased competition to Hawaii and skyrocketing fuel costs, Hawaiian reported revenue of $826 million - its highest ever - and $10.5 million in earnings. Notably, Hawaiian paid off all creditors in full and renegotiated new labor contracts that did not result in wage or benefit reductions and kept the employees pension fund.
A painting of Hawaiian’s first Sikorsky 3-38 plane and
its disembarking passengers
Its third-quarter 2006 earnings, released last week, reported $7.8 million earnings despite a contentious fare war and high fuel prices.
Word on the street is that Hawaiian retained its interisland market share despite the entry of third carrier go!.
Public data on airline load factors seems to bear that out. Hawaiian’s 82.6 percent load factor continues to be at the top of the industry.
Loyalty comes into play again. Dunkerley says Hawaiian’s frequent fliers are not moved by price elasticity in the market. The marketing dynamic of the Hawaii’s travel market is based on number of seats, not number of carriers, he points out.
He also suggests that Hawaii’s new carrier “fundamentally misunderstands the dynamics of this market. It’s not based on just on low prices,” he says.
“Our customers’ reaction to go! is why would we?”
Someone that clever with words deserves a test, we thought. Could Hawaiian’s CEO master some mental acrobatics? We put him to a word association test, asking that he give us the first word or thought that comes to mind. Here are the results.
Competition: “Opportunity.” “Hawaiian competes with more airlines than any other in the U.S. I’d be in the wrong place if I didn’t see competition as opportunity.”
Seasonality: “Less significant” “We used to have noticeable peaks and off-peak periods. Now we see there are people who can take a week off at any time of the year, so seasonality has diminished.”
Pilots: “Friends and colleagues.”
Investors/shareholders: “Absolutely critical supporters of our business.”
E-commerce: “Massive change in the way people book travel.”
“When we think in global terms of being a small regional airline, it’s easy to fall prey to the thinking that we are somehow expected to be less advanced. That’s not the case at Hawaiian Airlines.”
Airport security: “Important.” “But the federal government and the airline industry are doing a poor job of recognizing the need to make the security process less hassle and less interventionist for passengers.
“We are creating lasting damage to the free flow of people and the benefits of having people involved in travel universally. The aloha spirit adds a world of difference to the way security is handled in Hawaii. It is a lot better here in terms of respectfulness and friendliness of staff.”
Travel hassle: “One of the most important issues we have to address.”
Tourist must-see: “The wonderful people of our state.”
“What is particularly great about Hawaii is that it has done a better job of preserving the fabric of the community.”
Personal goal: “To be a part of a team that is performing to its absolute ultimate.”
If the airport walk-through we did with Dunkerley that morning is any indication - the CEO being greeted by confident employees, passengers interacting cordially with check-in personnel, and pilots sharing jokes with the boss - Hawaiian’s CEO is flying right.
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