Hawaiian Airlines ended as an independently functioning airline on April 22, but what it built didn’t end with it. The parts that, in hindsight, made Hawaiian feel ahead of everyone else are the same ones Alaska is now stepping into and scaling.
Just days before the flight code disappears, it is easier to see the shape of what Hawaiian actually was. It was not just the airline that could not make the numbers work; it was the airline that kept getting the future right earlier than almost everyone else around it.
Hawaiian Airlines saw premium differently.
Beat of Hawaii editors have both been flying the Pacific on Hawaiian for nearly a half-century. And we saw it at (mostly its best) firsthand, on the second-to-last HA1 from Los Angeles to Honolulu. The 787 was not trying to copy what other U.S. carriers were doing. It was trying to reset expectations entirely, and for a regional Hawaii airline, that meant more than it would have anywhere else. Hawaiian repeatedly won top-rated U.S. airline recognition year after year, for operational performance and service.
The Adient Ascent business class suites we experienced were one example. Hawaiian backed it early, before any other U.S. airlines had committed to something comparable. At the time, that looked like a risk for a carrier already on borrowed time and with little room for error. Now it looks like it was a blueprint.
Alaska’s new international business class uses the exact same business-class platform. The headlines now belong to Alaska, but the decision to believe in that suite, when it was still unproven, belongs exclusively to Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian largely built a product that reflected the emotional aspects of Hawaii flights. TEAGUE designed the interior around Hawaii, with Polynesian navigation references overhead in the ceiling, Hawaiian touches throughout, and materials tied directly to the place in a way no U.S. airline even attempts. The seat, the layout, the feel of the cabin all reflected that, in some ways at least, perfectly.
We covered that in detail in Hawaiian Airlines Dreamliner First Class Review. When the Dreamliner arrived, nothing about that experience felt like a legacy airline barely holding on. It felt like something big, maybe just getting started.
Hawaiian moved first on what travelers actually use.
Before most U.S. airlines could stabilize their hodgepodge of largely poor-quality, expensive WiFi deployments, Hawaiian moved to Starlink across its fleet, putting very fast, free connectivity on all its trans-Pacific A330S and A321neos. It simply worked from gate to gate. No falderal, no log-in, no loyalty program or credit card.
Note: Unfortunately, Hawaiian was never able to achieve WiFi certification on its Dreamliners, and Alaska is just now in the process of obtaining that.
Starlink WiFi was not a small upgrade. It changed how Hawaii flights felt, especially for travelers who were used to paying for something slow or unreliable, if it existed at all. We cannot tell you how many times we’ve flown with other airlines that promised WiFi to and from Hawaii, only to find it didn’t work or didn’t work well. Hawaiian made the right call early, and it made it across two aircraft fleets already in service, not just on new plane deliveries.
Hawaiian identified the parts of the experience that travelers actually cared about, and it moved before anyone else did. Alaska now inherits that advantage. It does not have to explain why it counts or prove that it works, since all that came and went. Hawaiian already did its part, as have others since. Alaska has also decided to deploy Starlink WiFi across its entire network that BOH editors enjoyed on a brand new Alaska 737 MAX 8 about a week ago.
Hawaiian built a brand that traveled well: Pualani.
For decades, Hawaiian showed up in Australia, Japan, Korea, and New York City (pictured) with something that already had great meaning. And that too was not an accident, nor is it easy to replicate.
The Pualani brand was consistent. The identity was tied to our iconic home in a way that translated well internationally, especially in Japan, where airline brand perception still carries weight in purchasing decisions. Travelers were not just choosing a seat or a fare. They were choosing what the airline represented.
A national branding study ranked Hawaiian first among U.S. airlines for brand effectiveness, with a score of 123 out of 200 for logo recognition, brand attribution, and consistency. Alaska scored 74 and ranked ninth. We covered that gap about Hawaiian’s reach in How Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Branding Took Aloha Global. The difference was clearly not about marketing budgets. It was about what the brand stands for when it enters a market far from home.
We have previously explored what happened to that identity. The answer is not simple, and it is not finished. Alaska can keep parts, but it can never recreate the conditions that originally built it.
Hawaiian reached further than it was capable of.
Hawaiian ordered the 787 with plans that extended well beyond Asia, including potentially London and Singapore. It also kept flying routes that did not earn their keep and never figured out how to price its product the way the rest of the industry had learned to.
What it did not have was the corporate financial structure to keep it working when conditions tightened the way they did, and its ambitions outran the balance sheet years before Alaska ever stepped in.
The failure was not Hawaiian’s vision.
That part has already been told, and it does not need to be repeated here. We covered it in Why Hawaiian Airlines Failed: A Story of Planes, Promises, And Pride.
The timing, the cost structure, and the other breakdowns, both COVID-related and around the Saber-to-Amadeus migration in 2023, and other events, all seemed to come crashing down at once.
The leadership payouts that followed only sharpened the contrast. Peter Ingram at $13.2 million, Shannon Okinaka at $4.9 million, Jonathan Snook at $5.4 million, and Aaron Alter at $4.2 million. Those numbers landed hard with many when the airline itself couldn’t remain viable.
Hawaiian needed Alaska. This was not a strategic pairing of equals, as it was once called; it was a rescue.
Alaska gets the part Hawaiian could not finish.
Alaska inherits the aircraft decisions, product direction, connectivity upgrades, and early bets Hawaiian made when it still had room to maneuver. It gets to scale them across a far larger network, and with its stronger financial base.
It also inherits the harder question. What happens to the parts of Hawaiian that were not just operational decisions, but identity?
What Hawaii loses is harder to measure for residents and kamaaina.
Hawaiian was never the biggest airline serving the islands, nor the most profitable or efficient. What it was, for a long time, was the airline that understood uniquely what a Hawaii flight was supposed to feel like.
That was demonstrated in small ways and big ones. It showed up in how the cabin felt when you boarded, the unique Hawaii-based service provided, in how the brand translated overseas, in the decisions that put traveler experience ahead of short-term gain, and even good sense.
Those choices didn’t keep the airline alive. But they shaped what the airline became and what Alaska now has to work with. Hawaiian did not survive as an independent airline, and it did not disappear, exactly.
What does Hawaiian’s legacy mean to you now that the airline itself is no longer on its own, and does seeing Alaska build on what Hawaiian started change how you look at either one?
Lead Photo © Beat of Hawaii attending the inaugural HNL-JFK route celebration in New York City at Grand Central Station.
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We’re already seeing a downgrade in service. Pre-flight drink? Nope. Take off, in flight check in, “can I get you something” – nope. Midflight meal feels like a task, meanwhile crew are sitting in the back now watching Netflix. If Alaska wants me or my family to buy 1st class tickets and carry the profit, they better get their act together.
I’ll take better service on United, even if the seats or wifi are still subpar.
Get it together Alaska!
Yes, Hawaiian needed the rescue. Even though the service and the employees were exceptional, it would not have withstood the competition from bigger, mainland based Majors, who simply would have absorbed all of Hawaiian assets by now.
Alaska was by far the best option for Hawaiian to retain at least its brand name and some of its local culture. Alaska has committed $600 million into keeping Hawaiian as Hawaiian as possible. Time will tell.
Okay here’s my honest take as I just got back from flying with Hawaiian after full integration. Service is still the same. All announcements are Hawaiian Airlines and no mention of Alaska. I can however tell Alaska did some of the hiring as I had a conversation with one FA who was a new hire and she was nice but just not as “Hawaiian Airlines” as we are used to seeing. And when I say that I mean you can tell she was not local and did not have puas in her hair which is a huge part of Hawaiian. Only real gripe I have about it all is the branding is confusing upon arrival/departure. At LAS the check in was all Alaska branding with Hawaiian being super small print. No Co-branding (which would make alot of sense at LAS.) It made you think twice if you were in the correct area for check in. Also when getting bags at LAS the announcement in the airport came in as Alaska flight 876 which was also confusing as everything from HNL and onboard was HA. Little things that can be improved upon.
I’m flying a Hawaiian Airlines flight operated by Alaska in a few days. I’m curious to see how it’s integrated, if at all.
For my wife, adult daughter and I, what made Hawaiian special was the People with whom we dealt. From our first time getting bags checked at LAX to our most recent return flight in mid-April, it is the aloha shown by the People of Hawaiian. I know that since our last trip and coming trip in two weeks, more trips have taken place. What will really determine if the aloha can remain is how Alaska handles the full integration of employees of the two airlines. Senority lists are The thing for flight crews. At least for Captains and First Officers, I would think they are fairly safe from being bumped since the fleets of the two airlines have had no commonality. Hawaiian flies the Boeing 717, Airbus A321n and Airbus A330 while Alaska has been flying only the Boeing 737s. I know, Alaska bought the Hawaiian fleet that included the Boeing 787s, but from what I heard, it has been only Hawaiian pilots currently rated on the 787 that are flying them.
BOH is clearly a Hawaiian Airline fanboy, I don’t get the statement that Hawaiian built a blueprint business class suites before any other airline? Delta and other airlines did it over a decade before Hawaiian introduced it. And yes Hawaiian Airlines saw premium differently, they were trying to reset expectations to pay more and get less! Whenever I’ve flown Hawaiian their cabin service was always mediocre and their customer service call center is the worst.
As you enter the aircraft on the right was a plaque that pictured an Hawaiian bird.
On every flight I took, I took a picture of the plaque because my granddaughter loves birds and always appreciated my sending it to her.
Guess that will be gone. Sad.
Stop. It isn’t like United Airlines or American Airlines hasn’t been in business longer and like Hawaiian Airlines was the only carrier to arrive and depart the Hawaii Islands. Hawaiian Airlines was the only airline accepted by the Hawaiian citizens and gave the state a portion of the revenue. That’s why it was accepted because the other carriers don’t. I think United served the islands longer or earlier in time so please put this Hawaiian Airlines story to rest BOH. Who cares. It’s starting to become a nightmare topic and like you have nothing else to write about.
Actually Don, Hawaiian started in 1929, United in 1931 and American in in 1934.
Your perspective is what gets under the skin of the people that live in Hawaii…no respect for cherished institutions and things that are important to the people that live there. The whole Go home Haole deal has nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with a persons attitude…..just sayin
Actually John the airline you call Hawaiian Airlines was named Interisland Airways LTD. in 1929 and changed it’s name to Hawaiian Airlines in 1941. Haole by AI terms means a person of non Native Hawaiian ancestry most commonly referring to a white person or a foreigner. This site is for comments and not to be a criticizing battleground. As far as Hawaiian Airlines is concerned it was always more expensive than Alaska, Northwest Airlines now Delta, by like $100 dollars more round trip just to get a lunch included deal from my location. Sorry not my choice.
American did not start flying to Hawaii until the 70s. During the 30s and 40s the only airlines that flew to Honolulu were PanAm, Northwest, & United. Foreign carriers included Japan & Qantas. Aloha started in the 40s.
Actually the dates John has are incorrect, if you Google oldest airlines, here is what you get:
Oldest U.S. Airlines in Order of Establishment
1) Delta Air Lines (1925): Originally Huff Daland Dusters.
2) United Airlines (1926): Traces roots to Varney Air Lines.
3) American Airlines (1930): Formed through mergers of smaller carriers, though its roots trace back to 1926 with American Airways.
4) Hawaiian Airlines (1929): Began as Inter-Island Airways.
5) Alaska Airlines (1932): Originally operating as McGee Airways.
Despite how old Hawaiian is, they were definitely not the first to introduce BC suites, and their Premium class is not a true Premium class. I think BOH should start flying other airlines and see what they’ve been missing out on! 🙂
Just yesterday (05-03-2026) my wife and I travelled by now Alaska Air from Long Beach to Maui. Same Hawaiian air bus and surprisingly we were served our usual breakfast sandwich (in coach). Déjà vu? 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Wasn’t Aloha Airlines considered “the peoples airline”? Once they were gone Hawaiian raised prices. Then, as various competitive airlines showed up, Hawaiian would price war them until they failed. Hawaiian’s customer service would always get better with competition, otherwise they didn’t seem to care. Southwest really caused Hawaiian to be nice. They started doing things like waiving change fees if you showed up way too early for your flight.
From what I understand inter island airfare prices have been way too low for any airline to make it. The battlefront for airlines profitability is now incorporating credit cards. If you haven’t noticed there seems to be a “miles” price war inter-island at the moment. Get it while you can.
I think BOH is over-romanticizing the former HA. Sure the branding said Aloha, but the experience, particularly at HNL and the phone customer service was just like any other airline! Never consistent, and largely dependent on the disposition and character of the particular CSA you had to deal with! Furthermore the generous self serving payouts to the executives who ran the airline into the ground is very typical of the rest of the industry. Alaska overall is a pretty decent airline and HA is fortunate to have been rescued by Alaska over United or American. Alaska will hopefully maintain the Hawaiian brand for nostalgia and the fact that they tout themselves as an all Boeing operation. Overall, Hawaii will be better served by a company that understands the importance of profitability and the delicate balance between profitability and customer satisfaction.
everything that was Hawaii is gone, just another boring overpriced island now
What happens to all our Hawaiian miles?
Really sad to see them go. The best airlines now gone😔🌺
I transferred my Hawaiian miles to Alaska (who uses ATMOS).
Hawaiian Miles transfers to Alaska’s ATMOS Rewards program.
Oh. Wah. Those mean people from Seattle who were so insensitive and so disrespectful in righting that crash and burn. Do the jilted people realize that Spirit just went t up and Alaska was busy fixing Hawaiian, and couldn’t also rescue the yellow airplane company?
We just flew Alaska from San Diego to HNL, to ITO. Only snacks…chips, pistachio nuts, cookies. Offered once, drinks offered once. Then nothing. They had changed the time of our flight (originally Hawaiian), when it went to Alaska. Get to HNL & onto our connecting flight to ITO. We arrive & our luggage did not. All they could tell us was it was scanned in San Diego. They took descriptions of everything & promised to call when it was located. Hawaiian called the next morning & delivered them to our home in Volcano. The other thing I noticed is the Alaska boarding pass is not as clear as Hawaiian’s is. This takeover doesn’t enhance my experience.
I loved Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines because of the Aloha spirit and decor and uniforms and Hawaiian music and flowers in the attendants hair, mai tais and Hawaiian inspired food but most of all of the Hawaiian residents who worked at the check in counters, the gates and the planes. I sure hope Alaska keeps all that to some degree. Otherwise it’s just another airline choice and not the Aloha experience.
Hawaiian Airlines is not gone!
That is, not entirely…
We are flying from OGG to SEA
after two beautiful weeks on Maui this coming Tuesday.
The non-stop Airbus 330 widebody will feature Hawaiian Airlines livery, uniformed crew and a glass of free punch and available Hawaii-made snacks.
It is like extending our vacation!
I keep hearing that HA is gone, but then I flew into HNL from San Diego on a HA A330 last week and taxied to terminal one and all I saw was HA tail flashing on all the active aircraft around that terminal. Weird for an airline that ‘no longer exists’. And speaking of that A330, what a tired, dated looking aircraft, even in first class where I sat. And, unlike the seating diagram, they were not the ‘pods’ as shown on seat selection, just the worn out ‘business’ class type seating. Won’t spend money on that class again. Also, flew a B717 later to Maui, nothing in the cabin said’Hawaiian’.
I am so saddened that Hawaiian Air will be no longer with us. We have flown Hawaiian Air to Hawaii since 1984. We loved the plane itself and the mood and atmosphere of the plane to get us ready for our paradise trip. The service on board was impeccable and loved the attire the crew wore with always a flower in the ladies hair. The pilots were always pleasant and informative. The food was better back in the day and couldn’t figure out the ingredients in our pastry pocket breakfast towards the end of Hawaiian Airs’ demise. We will really miss Hawaiian Air on our next trips to Hawaii
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As I’ve said before, Jack Magoon understood what it took to make an airline desirable. Make the customer Numbah 1. Make the airline unique with service. Once sold to the first conglomerate it began to degrade. I’m so glad he wasn’t around to see what it had become. He also realized the “staff” from the front office through the ticket people, baggage handlers, pilots, Stewardesses, cleaning staff, food people and airplane maintenance workers, were the main reason people flew Hawaiian. The smile, the Aloha, the relaxed but efficient and kind attitude. Hiring people from Seattle, New York, San Francisco and so forth has turned it into just a means of transport if the price is right or cuts a few dollars from another carrier. Auwe.
Yup! The whole ‘mood set’ that Hawaiian established the moment you stepped aboard their aircraft is gone. The decore, the uniforms, the flight crew and the music kind of made the start special. People responded to that, you could hear it in the conversations and looks on their faces, the anticipation. It’s all gone, probably never coming back, so those of us who were fortunate enough to enjoy it will still have those fond memories, and just move on.
So, so sad.
We just need to pretend that Hawaiian Airlines went out of business which they were in the verge of before being acquired by Alaska. All the amenities that are being reminisced are what caused it to head towards bankruptcy.
Most important statement in this article and puts it all into perspective……
“ and its ambitions outran the balance sheet years before Alaska ever stepped
Sure, everyone Loved the frills, the mood, of flying Hawaiian but the ideas were outstripping the budget, for many years. It’s important to keep this in mind when moaning about the demise of Hawaiian.
Yesterday we flew Hawaiian/Alaska back from the Cook Islands. The only good thing was the wifi. I booked the flight several months ago when the once weekly flight to HNL from Rarotonga was on a Sunday. That got changed to Saturdays and the airline never notified me of the change! I caught it when with i installed the new Atmos app and my flight didn’t show up. I called and was told by an Alaskan rep that the flight was still on Sunday, it just didn’t show up on their schedule because it was sold out!!! I called a couple of days later and after a 20 minute hold, oh yeah, that flight now leaves on Saturday. The premium seats I bought, gone. My husband and I couldn’t even sit together. Then they serve some lame a$$ small cold sandwich and a half a can of soda. After flying Air New Zealand for the weeks prior, it was an example how not to treat your customers. We will not be flying them in the future.
One of the saddest days in history of Hawaii. Alaska has no clue about how Hawaiian spread our love of our islands and Aloha spirit!!!
Maybe not, but Alaska Airlines has a really good idea of how Hawaiian Airlines burned through billions of dollars of investors’ money, which is all that matters for a publicly held, for-profit corporation.
Alaska Air Group will never get thanks it deserves for taking on Hawiian’s debt and employees, rather than letting them go bankrupt and just picking through the carcass.
I flew from Maui to Sacramento booked Hawaiian but on an Alaska airline. I paid (no discounts or miles) full price for first class. What I got was less than first with no tablet for movies for a 5 hour trip and uncomfortable seats. Not Hawaiian standards. I thought, is this what I’m facing for future flights? I will have to start looking for another Airline if I want to fly first and I do fly every year.
I still remember Aloha airlines. Sad to see them go.
So in other words, the way I see it is that Alaska Airlines is riding the coat tails of Hawaiian.
Hawaiian Airlines built a legacy carrier of tradition geared towards the Aloha spirit and Hawaiian culture.
Hawaiian Airlines did not support Hawaii! they always price gouged people flying to Vegas to watch UH play UNLV. Many times double the regular fare. When Aloha Airlines went under Hawaiian took advantage being the primary airline.
The way I see it is the Alaska Airlines stockholders bailed out the Hawaiian Airlines stockholders, bailed out the State of Hawaii by assuming facilities leases as they were, bailed out the employees by buying Hawaiian as a turn-key operation instead of waiting for Hawaiian to go bankrupt and rummaging through the debris.
It’s pretty clear that what AAG really wanted was HA’s 787’s and 787 options. That is all that’s worth anything.
That is the most saddest news. Broken hearted me!!!
They tried everything short of offering competitive prices,