A federal appeals court just gave travelers a rare second chance to challenge Alaska’s takeover of Hawaiian. The surprise ruling reopens a fight most thought was over.
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75 thoughts on “Can Travelers Really Undo Alaska’s Hawaiian Airlines Takeover?”
The merger with Hawaiian and Alaska air is a disaster. Flight schedules from some destinations to Hawaii have not been affected much but with the majority of the return flights to the mainland are now red eye flights. Many travelers are looking elsewhere. The wonderful people on the islands are suffering as a result as tourists are looking for better options. They will save money when they cut routes or don’t fly at all. What a disappointment.
I hope not. I am normally a traveler on Delta and have been Diamond there for 5+ years with 1.7M miles. I just flew transpacific for the first time in First class with Hawaiian on Saturday 10/18. All I can say is that is no wonder that they were ripe for a takeover. While on time, the cabin comfort and service was far below expectations for first class and even what I expected for Hawaiian. I could list all of the poor things that happened but that would take too long. Let me just say that the experience started on takeoff when the attended forgot to latch the containers in the galley and on acceleration two of them fell out from the top shelf and nearly crushed the foot of the passenger in row 1. From there it was just remarkable inattentiveness and malaise. I have always enjoyed the interisland flights but they are generally so short that not much can go wrong. Give these teams 6 hours and it’s another ballgame.
I have been flying with Hawaiian airlines for over 20 years. I came back recently from there from a direct flight from New York. The hospitality of the crew and feeling of Aloha is so welcoming and you feel like you are there. I flew with a friend that has never been there before and loved how she felt the Aloha spirit on this flight. No airline could ever replicate that feeling. I am upset that the take over of Alaska Airlines will not have that same feeling. Hawaii is my 2nd home and I will continue to fly with Hawaiian for that Aloha spirit experience.
Hawaiian Airlines could not continue existing the way it was going, it was in a financial downward spiral. No one else was willing to step in, save it financially, while still allowing it to spiral downward. This may not be perfect, but at least Hawaiian continues to exist, maybe in a slightly different way but it’s still there. The employees need this, please stop trying to make this not happen, when there’s no other viable option. Did I miss something?