Forbes to Lead Financial Planning at Hawaiian Airlines

Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines.

By Sonia Isotov

Hawaiian Airlines recently announced the appointment of Christian Forbes as its  new vice president of financial planning and analysis.

Forbes will be working within the finance depart and providing leadership in the area of revenue analysis and cost reduction, and will also support Hawaiian’s future expansion plans.

“Christian’s analytical skills and experience both within and outside the airline business will be vital to Hawaiian as we expand our fleet of long-range aircraft and face the ongoing competitive rigors of our industry,” said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, in a written statement. “He will play an important role in the company’s continuing growth and development and we’re pleased to welcome him to our team.”

Before joining Hawaiian, Forbes spent four years with The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm based in Washington, DC, where he most recently served as Vice President of US Real Estate. Prior to that, he served in various finance-related positions at US Airways Group in Tempe, AZ, including director of financial planning, flight operations and in-flight divisions, and director of corporate finance and treasury operations. His background also includes working for a member of the US Congress from 1997-1999.

Forbe studied at the University of Rochester, where he was on the Dean’s List for three years before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and certificate in international relations in 1995. He then earned a certificate in Mandarin and Chinese studies at Nanjing University in 2000 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2002.