Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. – a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. HA – posted a significant rise in air traffic in the month of March. Traffic – measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – came in at 1.23 billion, up 5.3% from 1.17 billion recorded a year ago.On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) inched up 3.1% to 1.49 billion. Moreover, the load factor or percentage of seats filled by passengers increased to 82.9% from 81.2% in Mar 2014.For the first three months of 2016, Hawaiian Airlines generated RPMs of 3.54 billion (up 5.8% from the corresponding period last year) and ASMs of 4.37 billion (up 3.3% year over year). Meanwhile, load factor increased by 200 basis points year over year to 81.1%. Moreover, passenger count for Mar 2016 and the first three months of 2016 increased 3.6% and 4.9%, respectively.Increased travel demand and continuous route expansion were the primary factors driving traffic. Hence, we believe that such positives will continue to drive the carrier’s performance. Moreover, as per Airlines for America (“A4A”) – the trade organization for leading U.S. airlines – this spring is going to be the busiest one for U.S. carriers. This will likely act as a major catalyst for Hawaiian Airlines.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderHawaiian Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks include Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft DLAKY, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. CEA and SkyWest Inc. SKYW. Both Deutsche Lufthansa and China Eastern sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while SkyWest carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report HAWAIIAN HLDGS (HA): Free Stock Analysis Report CHINA EASTN-ADR (CEA): Free Stock Analysis Report SKYWEST INC (SKYW): Free Stock Analysis Report LUFTHANSA -ADR (DLAKY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research