Alaska Airlines Completes Acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines

Less than a day ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation cleared the way for the merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. In their detailed statement, they gave the go ahead on the basis that the merged group meet a number of obligations to protect its customers, especially those more affected within the Hawaiian island chain.

Alaska Airlines has now announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, but unlike most other mergers and acquisitions, the expanded entity will maintain two distinct brands: Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

In a statement, Ben Minicucci, CEO of the Alaska Airlines Group said:

“This is a historic day for Alaska Airlines as we officially join with Hawaiian Airlines. Alaska and Hawaiian share tremendous pride in connecting communities with award-winning service, and we look forward to inviting more guests on board to experience what makes both brands unique. Among Alaska, Hawaiian and Horizon Air, we have more than 230 years of history flying guests and serving communities. I know we will build on that legacy and become stronger together – providing the excellent operation guests have come to expect, expanding options to seamlessly travel nearly anywhere in the world, and securing the financial stability and value that inspires investment.”

Message from our CEO: Hawaiian Airlines has joined Alaska Airlines

The combined route network will allow guests to fly directly between 141 destinations, including 29 international markets, and over 1,200 destinations globally through the oneworld Alliance and global partners.

Credit: Alaska Airlines

Honolulu will also become the second largest hub in the network, joining Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, San Diego and Anchorage.

The acquisition also means that the group will operate a mixed fleet of 350 Boeing and Airbus aircraft comprised of:

  • 2 Boeing 787-9s
  • 24 Airbus A330-300s
  • 18 Airbus A321neos
  • 235 Boeing 737s (combination of Boeing 737-700s, -800s, -900s, -900ERs, MAX 8s and MAX 9s)
  • 19 Boeing 717s
  • 44 Embraer E175s
  • 8 dedicated freighters (3 Boeing 737-700, 2 Boeing 737-800 and 3 Airbus A330).

What to expect

Effective immediately, Alaska and Hawaiian passengers can expect the following benefits including Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles maintaining the same value. Alaska Lounge members and guests can also use Alaska Lounge locations when flying on Hawaiian Airlines.

In the next few weeks, customers will be able to transfer miles on a 1:1 ratio at no additional cost, and both airline websites will allow you to book flights on its respective partner brands. Hawaiian residents will also benefit from an upcoming travel program called Huaka‘i by Hawaiian.

In the next few months, customers will be able to accrue Mileage Plan miles or HawaiianMiles when flying either airline. In early 2025, you’ll be able to redeem your Mileage Plan miles directly on all Hawaiian flights including international destinations. You will also be able to combine Hawaiian flights with Alaska or partner flights when redeeming your miles.

Credit: Alaska Airlines

If you’re an elite flyer with Alaska or Hawaiian, you’ll be able to link your accounts to automatically enjoy equivalent status on the other airline. If you have elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) in both programs, your status will be based on the highest tier you qualify for based on your combined EQM total.

In the long run Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles elites will enjoy select elite benefits when flying on either airline. They are also working on building out an entirely new program to merge the best of the two programs into one, with more details coming in mid-2025.

DOT requirements

As mentioned before, the US Department of Transportation has mandated a number of rewards and service requirements. Besides the mileage benefits covered above, the group will be required to maintain critical inter-island and continental routes and continue support for essential air service in Alaska and Hawaii.

Credit: Bradley Wint/Gate Checked

They also have to ensure competitive access to Honolulu hub airport, guarantee fee-free family seating, provide alternative compensation for delays and cancellations caused by the airline, and lower costs for service members and their families.

Conclusion

With the acquisition wrapped up, Alaska and Hawaiian can now move forward to better integrate operations. Customers will soon start seeing shared benefits in the next few weeks to months, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the long term.

The DOT mandates offers a lot of protection, including maintaining essential air services, as well as keeping inter-island service in the Hawaiian chain.

However, Alaska has its work cut out as Hawaiian Airlines has been bleeding money since the start of the pandemic. How will the Alaska group turn things around? I’m sure they may consider fleet optimization as one measure. With the A330s being replaced by the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, will Alaska drop Hawaiian’s A321neos like they did with their Virgin frames? Maybe we might see Hawaiian MAX 10s operating transpacific routes at some point in the future?

Featured image: Alaska Airlines

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