The transition is no longer theoretical and is moving fast. Hawaiian Airlines new owner, Alaska Air Group, just named its Honolulu leadership team to oversee operations across both Alaska and Hawaiian brands. That move puts Alaska fully in control of Hawaii’s most important airline base even before any more formal changes including single operations have occurred. While executives continue to insist Hawaiian Airlines will remain distinct in perpetuity, this development shows who’s actually in charge going forward. And for travelers, the biggest questions now center on experience, identity, and whether anything will feel familiar or different the next time they fly to Hawaii.
Who’s now running operations in Hawaii.
At the top of the newly announced team is Jim Landers, Hawaiian’s current Senior Vice President of Technical Operations, who becomes Head of Hawaii Operations at Alaska. He will oversee engineering, maintenance, and safety across the combined network.
Other key appointments are also largely drawn from Hawaiian and Alaska’s leadership bench, including long-time Alaska Hawaii executive Daniel Chun, Jonathan Goo, and Alisa Onishi. Melodi Pieper, overseeing HR across the islands, also joins the team. A Head of Hawaii Guest Operations is expected to be named sometime later this fall.
That continuity may sound reassuring. For now, the reporting structure leads directly to Joe Sprague, a long-time Alaska executive who is acting as president of Hawaiian Airlines during this transition, and the person tasked with integrating the two airlines. That means some long-serving Hawaii veterans and some Alaska key execs will together be executing Alaska’s playbook. The question becomes whether this will preserve what travelers have come to expect from Hawaiian or whether it’s just a gentler version of a more traditional takeover. For example, will Hawaii guest operations be different somehow than Alaska’s overall guest operations.
Why this team matters to travelers.
This isn’t just some internal reshuffling. These are the people who decide how flights to and from Hawaii are staffed, how schedules are built, how aircraft are maintained, how customers are managed, and to some degree which routes stay or disappear. As the airlines move toward a single operating certificate and one loyalty program this fall, decisions made next will shape every interisland connection and every delay that gets handled or not.
It also signals that Alaska isn’t just flying to Hawaii. It wants to run Hawaii travel from the inside. That might bring added efficiency. It might bring investment. But it could just as easily bring more mainland thinking to a system that once was uniquely Hawaiian.
What this signals about brand identity.
This is a work in process with a whole lot more to be revealed over the next few months. We’ve already seen some tensions surface, as described in our coverage of pilot and staff reactions. Employees have voiced concerns about transparency and more as the push to integrate labor forces intensifies. It isn’t clear if the new leadership rollout will ease such skepticism. Alaska has emphasized that Hawaiian’s 95-year legacy and commitment to Hawaii will remain central, but some travelers remain unconvinced.
How Honolulu Airport Operations Are Already Shifting.
With more than 180 daily flights now falling under this Honolulu-based team, more changes may start showing up soon. That could include altered gate assignments, staffing shifts at check-in, and adjustments to customer service based on Alaska’s systems.
Several key routes once operated with widebody aircraft have quietly moved to single-aisle planes. Meanwhile, Hawaiian’s Dreamliners are being positioned primarily to support Alaska’s international expansion plans rather than bolster Hawaii. These decisions suggest deeper control is already in place. And with the loyalty program merger going live in October, there may be even less room left for business-as-usual.
What Frequent Hawaii Flyers Are Starting To Notice.
While the average visitor may not follow airline org charts like these, they’re definitely noticing the ripple effects. Readers have pointed out differences between the two airlines in food service, seat comfort, and even the tone of onboard announcements. One frequent interisland flyer named Tracy wrote, I used to know what I was getting on Hawaiian. Lately, it isn’t as clear.
That kind of uncertainty is what Alaska’s new Honolulu team is now expected to resolve. But whether they do it in a way that reflects Hawaiian’s identity or simply phases it out quietly is the question that could define the next years of Hawaii travel.
What happens next with the merger.
All eyes are now on the expected FAA single operating certificate this fall. That’s the trigger for full integration of systems, aircraft, and crew scheduling. The loyalty program merger will also happen this fall, with announcements expected by mid-August at the latest. And sometime in 2026, passengers will be moved onto one shared reservation platform. That’s when most of the final operational glue between the airlines will harden in place.
Until then, we’re in what looks like the final stage of Alaska’s progressing absorption of Hawaiian. With this new leadership team in place, it’s clear that whatever Hawaiian Airlines becomes next, the decisions are no longer being made independently. They’re being made from within, but not from the airline that built Hawaii’s aviation legacy. That was inevitable, and the time has arrived.
Have you noticed changes flying Hawaiian or Alaska in Hawaii? Tell us what’s different, or what still feels the same.
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As a mainlander from California I have always flown Hawaiian Airlines. For me it’s about the Aloha warmth from the moment you step on the plane. It makes me feel like I’m already on Island.
Today I noticed that the gate boarding person was not Hawaiian and kept saying “Thank you” until a Hawaiian counter staff reminded him “Mahalo” which he kind of fumbled the pronunciation as I I understand it. Something small maybe but it has always been a part of “putting me on island” even before departure. That’s something big for me!
Hello, I see a lot of change with Hawaiian Airlines I don’t like, like changes in what planes they use on which routes. Going to LAX now is mostly on 787’s. There are A330 flights still but not everyday. We were booked on a A330 a couple of months ago leaving on 8 Aug but they switched to a 787. The wife and I like the A330 because we can get 2 seats together in economy. On the 787 we have to sit with a 3rd person. Plus we don’t care to fly on the 787 so we’re leaving a day earlier. It was not inexpensive to switch flights this close to going. I wish HA would have at least let me know of the equipment changes, it was done silently. Oh well it is what it is, too bad about HA.
My question here, is about the phone service. Hawaiian has relatively short hold times. Alaska can have a few minutes to a few hours. With Hawaiian, if you have pualani elite status, there is a special line and they get to you quickly! Alaska doesn’t seem to have this. I’m praying they keep it! Know anything?
@Lisa Yes Alaska has an Elite MVP line and usually the wait is very little, like any other airline depending on the call volume at that time. Just within the past couple of weeks I’ve had to call Hawaiian a couple times and each time I felt like they were rushing me to get off the phone to move on. Alaska’s agents have always been very pleasant and very helpful whenever I have called.
My question is one that no one has given me an answer to. We are flying from Portland, Oregon to Maui in October. This will probably be our last trip there & would love to fly first class. However, the cost is completely out of reach as they are charging for each flight (to & from) instead of just one fare for round trip. Why is this?
@elaine – Supply and demand! Just looked at flights in Oct and I saw them range from 700-1000 for FC which looked typical AS pricing. Depends on what day and time you want to fly, if you’re flexible find a lower cost travel date/time. I’ve seen higher prices more on HA flights than AS because of the wide body FC lie-flat seats. To me the flight is too short to spend $$ on those seats, AS premium economy is a better value than HA extra comfort unless you have status and get upgraded.
@elaine – Forgot to answer AS has always priced per segment, only recently on some routes I’ve seen it priced round trip. I could be wrong but I don’t think either way affects the total cost. Supply and demand!
I am currently in Hilo. I flew in from Burbank, which means I had to fly both airlines. The first leg was with Alaska and was mediocre. The flight to Honolulu and Hilo was with Hawaiian and was exceptional!! Real Aloha spirit. I would hate to think that the “new” airline would lose that spirit. Which would mean it would lose my business.
I was forced to fly Hawaiian since AS no longer flies their metal out of PDX to HNL. I thought the opposite where Hawaiian was mediocre and subpar to Alaska’s service and product. I feel AS made the switch too soon leaving their elites in the dust with less benefits. Sorry but the Aloha spirit doesn’t satisfy the belly or quenches the thirst during the flight! 🙂
Coming home on Hawaiian Airbus from Honolulu to Phoenix as I am writing this and the service has been wonderful. The flight is full and this is after the Tsunami warning yesterday. Food and beverages served and the flight attendants have been very accomodating. Even the bathrooms weren’t cramped like our flight over on AA. I was impressed with the airport, the time through TSA and a great flight back to Arizona.
That’s my flight and I agree. Good airplane and great crew. Hope it stays that way.
Right now if you use Hawaiian miles on their website you get only the direct nonstop HAL flight PHX to HNL for example, which is an A330-200, a good double isle airplane. If you go Dollars you get all the single isle 737 flights as well with at least one stopover. If/when they combine reservation websites into one we’ll see what happens. With the combined miles plans as well. I like having the separate Hawaiian website but it appears that’s going away.
When I read this, it sounded like the end of the HA leadership in the Hawaii operation, however the article clearly states that the leadership team for that operation will be a mix of mid- to upper-level managers from both pre-purchase HA and AS. I would think that would offer the opportunity for this new (or realigned) team to draw on experiences from both carriers’ backgrounds, so I really don’t think that the ‘Aloha Spirit’ is going to completely disappear.
I recently booked flights to/from HNL and PDX. Looking at both Alaska (AL) and Hawaiian (HA) airlines, I noticed that all the flights indicate they are HA, but very few of them are the wide-bodied planes. That’s a huge difference, especially if you’re looking at First Class seating. There also seems to be a net decrease in flights/seats available.
FYI, IATA airline code AL is assigned to ALPAVIA, a very small regional carrier based in Slovenia. Alaska Airlines code is AS. Trivia for the day! 😄
The best thing about Alaska air lines is that there phone people, speak English, ( not a third world country) ( not a direct tv operator) keep up the good work Alaska……
We have always flown Hawaiian our last trip we were put on Alaska out of Ontario,Ca. If I wanted to use my miles we had to fly out of LAX. Ontario is close to our home. I thought ok it should be fine. Our daughter helped book the flight. Didn’t realize you had to order food ahead of time. We are use to flying Hawaii thinking there would be breakfast, on Alaska. But we were given a biscotti cookie.
My seat was so uncomfortable. We have never had any complaints about Hawaiian as we flew out to different Islands every year. Everyone was treated like first class once f the plane I had trouble with my back for two days, from the seat not having any cushion. The flight attendants were rude on July 19th, 2025 back to Ontario. 4 hour flight!
Sorry for not being on the subject. Just heard Japan had a major earthquake. 8.5 on the ricktor scale. Tsunami may hit Hawaii and US west coast on alert. Rob and Jeff please keep us all informed. Thanks.
FYI…Russia not Japan.
Just booked air from pdx to lih.
I have had alaska card for 20 yrs and earned some miles.
There has always been direct to lih from pdx in the a.m. gone now. There was some times a direct home from lih to pdx. It has disappeared too.
Last year round trip using miles was around 85k. It has now doubled to 170k (i guess my alaska miles burn up faster having to fly on the Hawaiian plane) and have to go thru ogg to get to lih. So sad.
I flew to Honolulu on July 17th from LAX on Hawaiian . Hawaiian is now in terminal 6 which has been home to Alaska . Very disappointed, the one gate for Hawaii crammed in the corner . One of the gate agents was shouting out Zones to board and not using the intercom. ( The intercom was working). She was not wearing the Hawaiian print shirt like the other gate agents so I will assume she was from Alaska.
Just an awful experience.
I was premium economy and it didn’t seem like it had the Hawaiian Experience as in past years .
Have “tried” to fly Alaskan Airlines just last week and wasn’t just bumped – after 8 hours of waiting around the flight was completely canceled!!
Received (2) $200.00 vouchers for the flights, lost our entire airbnb costs, went to rebook a trip on Alaska and it wasn’t useable!!
Hate Alaskan Airlines! No one answers on customer service phone lines – it’s a disaster!
The airlines’ names are:
Alaska Airlines (Not Alaskan!)
Hawaiian Airlines
Mahalo
Thanks for the correction but that wasn’t the point. Alaska Airlines is not known for their Aloha Spirit the way Hawaiian Air is.
This was during the fallout of their IT outages, right? Multi-hour phone queues and delays across the network due to a ground stop. Still an absolutely terrible experience, but possibly atypical?
No, actually had nothing to do with the outages, was quote, “a knob in the cockpit” which needed replacement.
To be perfectly honest, it can only be an improvement. Hawaiian Airlines excels at bringing the aloha spirit, but tends to fall short when things go sideways. I am optimistic that Alaska will bring some operational reliability and, more importantly, consistency to Hawaiian operations.
It used to be so easy to book my flight from SMF to SYD via HNL. Not so anymore. I’m not sure why I have to go to Seattle and then HNL. Flight times are crazy. Just want the old route back
So far, I’m positively impressed with the merger. Last week I received an email about flight changes on an upcoming trip to Kauai from San Diego. The changes were OK except for our Lihue to Honolulu flight on our return journey. I called reservations and reached an agent quickly. I described the issue and need to change the Lihue to Honolulu flight to a later one than what was assigned with the flight changes Hawaiian Airlines had initiated. At first the agent tried to charge me more for the flight change but after pointing out that the Airline had made the changes I shouldn’t bear any additional cost, the changes I needed were made with no additional cost. All done in a phone call of about 15 minutes. Past flight change experiences and efforts to modify had taken me 60-90 minutes before. Based on this experience I’m cautiously optimistic.
Have you been to the Alaska airlines terminal in Seattle? It is always a $_ show with very long lines at every counter and TSA now can take reservations because it’s such a mess. When we fly out of there after our cruises, we just let the cruise line check our bags so we don’t have to deal with the counters. HNL has it’s moments also, so maybe between the two of them they can figure it out.
Unless you’re Pualani Gold or Platinum, Hawaiian’s check in at HNL is a nightmare you have to use a kiosk and only one person is there to check your bags, the only reason I fly Hawaiian is, because I’m Gold if I wasn’t I’d take an airline that actually has staff. Same goes for Alaska, I hate they you can’t print a boarding pass with them. I’ll stick with the Big 3 when possible from now on.
I am a transplant Pualani Platinum via Alaska but went through the kiosk with only one person helping while the line grew long! It was the first time leaving HNL on Hawaiian so we had no idea where the full service was. The line was also inefficient, after the agent helps you, you have to back out of that same line to exit instead of Hawaiian creating a separate exit near the agent. Alaska’s kiosk and service is much better and efficient in the Mainland, I heard most of the Alaska help at checkin are contractors so I’d agree they are terrible but the last time I flew AS departing the checkin was much better. Also who prints a boarding pass nowadays when you have the app that is much faster and easier to use!