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 pilots his acrobatic plane
on the Mainland
Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, says there are two kinds of people in Hawaii: Those who work for Hawaiian Airlines and those who haven’t.
I admit to being one who has. It was during one of the darkest chapters in Hawaiian Airlines’ history. What I thought would be a glamorous job, flying to exotic places of the world, turned out to be a stressful nightmare of defending the company while it struggled with huge operating losses, paranoia among employees and uncertainty about its future. I was there when it was at rock bottom and barely able to get its planes off the ground each day.
Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I walked into Hawaiian’s corporate office recently to meet Dunkerley for a MidWeek interview. It was Halloween as well.
But what a difference a decade makes.
It is a treat to see Hawaiian Airlines in its present state. It is flying high and victoriously with so many industry accolades for performance that one wonders if it’s a trick.
What it has achieved in a miraculous, hard-fought turnaround is worthy of note in a community that sees many companies give up the ghost and leave town when the going gets rough.
Not Hawaiian Airlines. Not Hawaii’s flagship carrier.
Its journey hasn’t always been smooth.
Mark Dunkerley: a natural affinity
for Hawaiian’s pilots
Hawaii’s oldest airline weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s, martial law during World War II, competition for the Islands’ lucrative air-traffic market, huge fuel cost increases, deregulation, and more recently, bankruptcy.
Aviation historians say Hawaiian Airlines is a case study of how much power employee loyalty has during times of adversity. It is resilience that possibly comes from local cultural values. One never abandons a family in troubled times. Nor does one disrespect its heritage.
“We have many people in our organization who not only represent the Hawaiian culture, but I think are the Hawaiian culture,”
Dunkerley says. “My job is simply to get out of the way and let that shine through.”
Hawaiian is an aviation pioneer. It introduced the Pacific’s first scheduled passenger air service in 1929, became the first airline to be certified by the U.S. government for commercial cargo service, came to the aid of the country after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, and has repeatedly brought the world’s most modern aircraft to the Pacific.
Celebrating its 77th year of continuous service, Hawaiian today is the state’s largest airline and the second-largest provider of passenger service between Hawaii and the mainland U.S.
It is the nation’s No. 1 carrier for on-time service, fewest flight cancellations and best baggage reliability, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer travel surveys conducted by Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure and Zagat rank Hawaiian as the top domestic airline serving Hawaii.
This is obviously a good time to be piloting Hawaii’s kamaaina airline.
That’s the charge of 43-year-old Dunkerley, who is steering its course during a precocious post-bankruptcy period.
He joined Hawaiian Airlines three years ago as president and chief operating officer, having 20 years of executive aviation experience in North America and Europe.
Before coming to Hawaii, he was chief operating officer of Sabena Airlines Group based in Brussels, Belgium.
Dunkerley has a bachelor’s degree with honors from the London School of Economics, and a master’s degree in aero-
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