Tina Larson, managing director – sales analytics, distribution and planning

On March 10, a day before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 virus outbreak a pandemic, my role at Hawaiian completely changed.

At that point, a few groups had been leading our early COVID-19 response by monitoring updates and guidance from public health agencies, while consulting with industry partners and state, federal and international government officials.

As the severity of the pandemic rapidly increased, there was an urgent need to create a team dedicated to coordinating numerous efforts suddenly occurring throughout the company, and I was asked to lead a group of seven people representing various departments – Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources and Tech Ops – that became known as the Corporate COVID Coordination Team (CCCT). Coordinating COVID-19-related projects became our sole priority as Hawaiian navigated an unprecedented crisis in our industry. In other words, this was my new job.
 

Tina's role at Hawaiian quickly changed from sales leader to crisis coordinator once the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, I advised my Distribution, Sales Analytics & Planning teams that I would be sequestered in a conference room for the foreseeable future and to holler if they needed me, thinking this would just be a two-week project. I had been conducting a post-event analysis of our annual Global Sales Conference while finalizing a new distribution technology contract. My team was working on updating various sales and distribution reports, and everyone was excited for the roll out of new technology supporting our sales division operations. Within a blink of an eye, I was forced to drop all that work and found myself orchestrating and communication myriad efforts springing up across the company.

At this point, we had suspended our South Korea route, something unimaginable just a few short weeks ago. By the end of my first week as the CCCT lead, we received news that New Zealand would be closing its borders, with Australia following shortly after. We had to quickly figure out how to coordinate and communicate that we were suspending our Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney routes. Realizing we had a lot of people who needed to receive accurate information quickly, we created a “stakeholder distribution list,” which grew from 15 to more than 80 employees within a day.

Members of the CCCT conducting daily briefings from the temporary emergency response room at corporate headquarters.

The situation was incredibly fast paced and fluid, so we began holding daily CCCT briefings to keep departments informed on the latest news and company efforts. We began coordinating urgent IT projects, such as our pop-up reservations center launched to support a surge in guests whose travel plans were being disrupted; organized a resource staffing initiative to reassign employees to departments requiring extra support; and oversaw the reduction of our flight operations to a barebones schedule that is largely still in place today as a result of the state of Hawaii's mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving to the islands. For updates on the state's travel requirements, including a new pre-travel testing program scheduled to launch Aug. 1, please click here.

Other ongoing CCCT activities include:

• Collaborating with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to address a range of issues tied to business agility, commercial initiatives, marketing/communications, among others.
• Partnering with departments to develop new ad hoc processes (i.e. schedule change, cancelation and re-accommodation notifications) in response to our changing business needs.
• Providing executive briefing support and serving as the primary information source for leadership.

Once Hawai'i issued a work-from-home mandate, Tina led the CCCT from her home office.

We also shared workforce concerns to our executives so they could proactively address questions and support departments. In early May, with the state successfully flattening its infection curve and announcing a phased reopening of Hawai'i, we pivoted and helped coordinate efforts focused on recovery initiatives, including a phased reopening of our corporate offices with new health protocols, and determining what our “new normal” operating model looks like – a situation that continues to evolve today.

The Corporate COVID-19 Coordination Team, top row, from left: Josh Forloine, Al Harjati, Tina Larson, Mel LeFever and Diane Crouch. Bottom row: Roger Morikawa, Justin White and Philip Giusto.

The CCCT came together quickly and is comprised of many talented employees with differing expertise and skills. We didn’t know each other prior to this endeavor but quickly became a close-knit ‘ohana. I must credit Jim Landers, our senior vice president for technical operations and CCCT executive sponsor, for compiling a team of action-oriented individuals who work extremely well together. No matter what it is that comes our way, we figure it out and get it done. I am also thankful for my dedicated Distribution, Sales Analytics & Planning team members who have pushed existing initiatives forward and identified new projects during this crisis, even as I spend most of my time away from them. It’s been an absolute privilege to be a part of both teams during this crisis and I truly am “Pualani Proud.” 

Leaders throughout our airline have one task in common: keeping their departments focused as roles adapt to changes that have stemmed from the pandemic. 

For some of our employees, day-to-day responsibilities have temporarily changed to help the company, while others remain focused on maintaining our airline’s commitment to safety and reliability.

For example, our System Operations Control Center (SOCC) continues to manage our reduced route network while assisting other work areas, and our Human Resources (HR) Employee Service Center remains busy answering questions from thousands of employees. We talked story with two SOCC and HR leaders whose teams have stepped up to help and adjusted as needed for the future of Hawaiian Airlines.

From People…

Asiana Ponciano, manager of the HR Employee Service Center

The Hawaiian Airlines’ HR Employee Service Center (ESC) usually is a bustling touchpoint for employees, retirees, on-boarding new hires, and anyone needing HR support. We also facilitate pre-employment orientations for every workgroup, from flight attendants and pilots to guest service agents and mechanics.

COVID-19 presented our department, much like others in the company, with a series of challenges we’ve never faced.

Asiana Ponciano in front of the Employee Service Center, commonly known as the HR Help Desk, at our Honolulu headquarters.

Over the past two months, we have been answering our employee phone line and responding to emails while keeping healthy at home. Pre-COVID-19, the ESC team was handling an average of 520 employee appointments, drop-ins, emails, and phone calls per week; now, we’re managing about 300 per week. With lower-than-usual drop-ins and office meetings, we've used the downtime to digest and share new company information related to COVID-19, including updated policies and procedures, voluntary furlough options for different workgroups, unemployment insurance, and ongoing changes to internal programs and services like recurrent training and our employee shuttle.

In April, the company decided to offer employees opportunities to help reduce company costs via voluntary furlough. Various sub-departments throughout HR, like mine, had to coordinate the program rollout, compiling letters of agreement for contract employees, such as our airport operations team, and drafting communications for non-contract employees, most of whom work at our headquarters. Two weeks after we launched the initiative, the ESC experienced a massive influx of employees filing for unemployment insurance, and we had escalated over 100 calls to navigate employees through the process.  

We later expanded our services in May to manage benefits-related calls that were previously handled by a third-party company to save costs during this critical period. We also began promoting complimentary health and wellness workshops and resources (provided by our vendors), including fitness, financial planning, and mental well-being.

HR ESC Specialist Crystal Ishikawa helps an employee fill out a form at the HR Help Desk.

Staying organized and timely with communications was (and still is) critical to my team’s success in handling an evolving situation.

While trust and transparency have been necessary, having fun kept us close and strengthened our team. Our HR operations team hosts weekly virtual socials on our video conferencing platform, and each week a different group facilitates a game. Team bonding moments have made a significant difference in boosting morale during one of the most challenging times in our company and have made us stronger as a unit.  

As we enter a phased reopening of our headquarters and our regular operations, I can’t help but reflect on the lessons I’ve learned about my team as a unit and myself as a leader, including: 

• A team can pivot and work remotely without sacrificing output if we establish transparency and employees feel supported.
• Playing a game is just as important as doing a status check.
• Delivering timely and accurate information over the phone and email is essential, but being available to support employees is indispensable.

…To Planes

David Rouse, managing director of the System Operations Control Center 

Continuity and adaptability are vital for our System Operations Control Center (SOCC), and large-scale disruptions like COVID-19 put these critical components to the test. Our SOCC is sometimes called the nerve center of Hawaiian Airlines, with a core mission to ensure safe and reliable flight operations for our guests. Housed at the center of our headquarters, our SOCC is where teams work 24/7 to keep our network running smoothly and orchestrate critical functions like aircraft route assignments, crew scheduling, and disruption management such as significant weather events.

David Rouse pictured inside our SOCC before COVID-19, when dispatchers were busy monitoring over 260 daily flights system-wide.

The impact of the pandemic we’re in now, however, has been unprecedented. In just one month, we needed to make constant schedule changes to accommodate the rapid disruption to our operations and our guests’ travel plans. With our network downsized to a small fraction of the over 260 daily flights we previously offered, our dispatching operations also scaled-down relative to the reduced number of passenger and cargo flights. Since March, our Customer Service team and managers on duty have also volunteered to help our Consumer Contacts team respond quickly to a rush of reservation cases. Their assistance contributed to cutting guest response time in half.

Lastly, our automation team has been working tirelessly to identify cost-cutting opportunities, including reducing unnecessary data streaming and assisting our airline’s finance and technical operations colleagues in renegotiating vendor contracts. 

However, our dispatch leaders’ role has not slowed. In addition to overseeing current operations, they have also been working tirelessly on various ad-hoc charter missions that require a high level of expertise and logistical support. One of our more proud examples was our recent humanitarian charter that brought about 1.6 million face masks to Hawai‘i from Shenzhen, China – a city that we had never flown to before. Getting the proper permits and government approvals so we could land at the airport and pick-up the cargo order took an enormous amount of collaboration with multiple departments.

Hawaiian's bustling SOCC before COVID-19.

Our team members' health and safety are paramount. We have implemented several measures that work to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 exposure, including splitting our workforce between our primary and backup sites, opening SOCC doors to allow easier egress, and providing adequate supplies for disinfecting workstations.

My team’s demonstration of po‘okele (to excel) is indicative of their dedication to the success of Hawaiian Airlines. Their fundamental commitment to operate safely and reliably, combined with their personal sacrifice to support the company, has been incredible to witness during this challenging time.

Hawaiian Airlines pilots and flight attendants arriving at our Honolulu headquarters for their annual training qualifications are experiencing a new, COVID-conscious classroom environment.

In March, as COVID-19 became a pandemic, we made the difficult but necessary decision to cease most of our flying, put our growth plans on hold and institute a hiring freeze. Without new-hire instruction taking place, we took time to reassess and restructure our crewmember training programs before recently bringing them back. 

Supporting Our Flight Attendant Force

After an approximate two-month pause, flight attendant training operations resumed June 1 with an adjusted classroom format that follows health recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Ryan Casco, director of instructional delivery at Hawaiian, said his team remains focused on supporting and training over 2,100 flight attendants who continue to safely and confidently welcome guests on essential flights we have been operating in a reduced schedule. Our crewmembers are also looking forward to seeing more guests onboard our Neighbor Island flights starting June 16, when the state of Hawai'i lifts its quarantine restriction for travel between the islands.

A cohort of flight attendants at one of our annual requalification programs at our Honolulu headquarters.

“When we talk about training, we’re really talking more about requalifying our current flight attendants and sustaining that forward movement. After a flight attendant completes new-hire training, they’re required to come in annually to complete requalification training,” Casco said. “If they don’t qualify, they don’t fly, so requalification is what we are fixated on right now.”

“We knew that every training decision we make moving forward would set the precedence for how we do training in the future,” said Casco, whose team spent weeks mapping out what our requalification training would look like amid COVID-19. “What we decided is that we were going to keep training the same, but revamp it with different precautions when going through training that adjusted how we use the equipment, demonstrate certain skills, and utilize personal protective equipment. We want to make sure that the integrity of our safety procedures remains completely intact every step of the way.”

An instructor walks her five students through opening the exit door during an emergency drill in a mock aircraft cabin.

Annual training consists of approximately 22 hours of skills-based learning, including two eight-hour days in the classroom, and a comprehensive distance learning program. Now, trainees must distance themselves by six feet, wear gloves when touching shared training equipment and during hands-on training, and they are encouraged to wear a face mask as they are now required to do so when serving our guests. Instructors wipe down equipment at the end of each lesson, and rigorous cleaning of classrooms and training facilities occurs nightly.

“When flight attendants come in, there are different drills and evacuation commands that they have to perform to ensure they are capable. Through the recurrent training, we are just verifying that our flight attendants are highly qualified safety professionals, and they continue to embody our values. We want to make sure they learn from our instructors how to continue representing aloha, po‘okela (to excel), ho‘okipa (hospitality), lōkahi (unity), mālama (to care for), and our other core Hawaiian values (during and after the pandemic). Seeing these values expressed in real life is critical because our values are what makes us uniquely different,” Casco explained.

Requalification classes of 20 trainees, previously split with two groups with two instructors per group, are now divided into four clusters of five employees, each with one instructor, to allow for proper distancing.

Flight attendants are required to demonstrate several skills during annual requalification. Here, a flight attendant practices opening and closing a cabin door during an emergency exercise.

“Our staffing is still the same. The only thing that has changed is that we needed more classrooms to accommodate the increase in groups,” Casco shared.

Nearly 600 flight attendants are scheduled to receive requalification training this month and in July, with 23 instructors hosting 26 classes, up from 20 classes typically held in two months. While the numbers are likely to decrease after July, we expect another wave of requalification training as flight attendants who took voluntary leave return to work.

Until our operations resume to a new form of normalcy, Casco is glad training has started.

“We have flight attendants who are on the frontline every day, and continuing our training is important because it sends a message. If we require our flight attendants to continue business as usual, we need to support them, train them, answer their questions, and speak to their anxiety level," he said. "We understand it’s important to take time off during the pandemic, but if we require our flight crew to get out there and serve our guests on our aircraft, we should keep going.”

Maintaining Pilot Requirements for the Flight Deck

When our pilot training program revved back up in April, we shifted away from a “growth focus” to emphasize the need to keep our over 850 pilots up to date on FAA requirements.

Hawaiian’s pilot training has always been sophisticated. Pilots go through a multi-phased process unique to each candidate’s skill sets, requiring a high level of proficiency and a strong portfolio of prior training before operating an aircraft with Pualani on the tail. Instructional options vary, from long course training – a six-to-eight-week curriculum for fleet transitions, rank promotions, and new hires – to annual, continuing qualification training, which ensures our pilots are compliant with federal regulations. But once the pandemic struck, things became more complicated.

Our parked aircraft lined up on the runway at Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

“At the start of COVID-19, we were in an expansion phase. We were transitioning a lot of pilots from one fleet type to another, taking aircraft deliveries, launching new routes, and cycling through retirements and new hires,” said Brian Beres, senior director of flight standards and qualifications at Hawaiian. “In April, we had to assess what our priorities were, and that was keeping our existing pilots current. We had to pause for the rest of the pilot group who were training for a fleet upgrade or transition.”

“What gave us the ability to shift our focus on keeping pilots current were exemptions from the FAA, with the help of the Air Line Pilots Association International and Airlines for America,” Beres explained, noting other U.S carriers experienced similar challenges. “The FAA granted us temporary relief to certain regulatory requirements, so we were able to delay when those events needed to occur.” In addition to meeting continuing qualification training with technical skill demonstrations, pilots also need to fulfill minimum flying frequency, or “landing currency.”

“The FAA requires three takeoffs and landings every 90 days per pilot, which is normally not too much of a challenge,” Beres said. “But now we’re in an unprecedented situation where there is a large portion of our pilot group who may be qualified from a continuing qualification standpoint but lack the landing currency because our planes just aren’t flying. We have a more-than-90-percent reduction in flying, but we have the same number of pilots. We hope that this is a temporary situation, but the challenge is maintaining both the continuing qualification and the landing currency.”

To work around the challenge of having most of our fleet grounded, our Airbus A330 and A321neo pilots are temporarily completing landing currency training in our in-house flight simulators (SIM). Beres noted that SIM landings are part of the FAA’s approved methods to maintain landing currency, though the shift from the active cockpit to simulation training limits the number of pilots who can be trained. We currently have about 50 pilots flying each day, compared to some 217 pilots before COVID-19, and our SIM facility can accomodate 15-20 pilots each day for training.

Classroom sizes have been reduced to allow for social distancing, and instructors and pilots are asked to wear masks when gathering for a lesson in our conference rooms.

“It’s definitely a wrinkle that we don’t normally have to contend with,” Beres said.

For our Boeing 717 pilots, he added, the problem isn’t as significant.

“Fortunately, there are more landings to go around on the 717 than on the other aircraft types since we still have Neighbor Island fights that are operating, so it’s less of a challenge," he said. "However, we do have to make sure pilots who need their landing experience get swapped into active line flying trips so we can keep them current. We’re able to do that through crew scheduling to make sure we keep rotating through pilots on those flights.”

One of our Boeing 717 aircraft waiting for takeoff in Honolulu.

In the classroom and simulators, trainees must also follow a new set of requirements based on state and CDC recommendations. We reduced class sizes from 20 or more to ten or fewer pilots to allow for social distancing, provide trainees and trainers with masks, and perform an enhanced cleaning throughout the facility every day. Classroom and training devices are equipped with cleaning kits for crew members and SIM technicians to wipe down hi-touch surfaces between sessions.

Beres says our pilot force remains proficient at the highest level and ready to welcome back more guests as travel restrictions ease.

“Proficiency is usually natural and something you don’t need to worry about, so we had to adjust our focus since 90 percent of our flying has pretty much vanished. And it’s not just Hawaiian Airlines; it’s the entire industry,” he said. “Having state-of-the-art training facilities allow our pilots to log their hours and sharpen their skills as we hopefully begin to bring more of our routes back online in the coming weeks and months.”