In a huge development for both the Hawaii travel and U.S. aviation industries, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has officially approved the merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, clearing a final hurdle for the deal. There are, however many things still to be worked out, and some of the information still isn’t entirely clear.
This is the time to ask your questions.
Beat of Hawaii will meet with airline executives this week and provide additional details to our readers. Please ask your questions for the airlines in the comments below and we will do our best to get answers and provide an update.
The approval comes with stringent consumer protections, however, helping ensure the preservation of their respective loyalty program rewards, key Hawaiian Airlines routes, and rural service support. DOT’s new proactive approach also mandates competitive access at Honolulu’s hub.
With this approval, the two airlines are expected to finalize the merger this week. Alaska Air will take control of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., allowing the combined entity to provide integrated services across their routes. This marks a significant move toward Alaska Airlines’ next phase of growth and it will help stabilize Hawaiian Airlines’ severe financial issues, which have long persisted. Alaska will also come to own the deal that Hawaiian procured to fly a fleet of Amazon planes.
Protections for consumers and communities.
DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized today that this is the first time the agency has mandated enforceable protections as part such an airline merger approval. Key commitments include:
- Maintaining the value of frequent flyer miles and loyalty program benefits for both HawaiianMiles and Alaska Mileage Plan members. This has been a concern that many of you have repeatedly stated in comments.
- Ensuring no changes in critical inter-island and mainland-to-Hawaii routes. This is another huge issue for Hawaii residents and visitors as there have been persistent concerns about Alaska continuing to flying the interisland routes to the same degree that Hawaiian has. We have mentioned this previously as a major issue in the acquisition approval, and that has indeed come to pass.
- Supporting essential services in rural communities of both Hawaii and Alaska, which rely on air travel for vital needs.
- Offering fee-free seating arrangements for families and military personnel, alongside continued cargo and passenger service for Hawaii’s islands.
Transition and integration timeline.
While the merger is now set to close, the process of combining both carriers under a single operating certificate from the FAA will still take months to complete. Still pending is the integration of flight schedules, management, and operational standards. The airlines must also submit annual compliance reports to the DOT for six years to ensure adherence to the protections required.
This merger positions the combined airlines to serve more than 50 million annual passengers, with flights to 138 destinations, including 29 international ones. Hawaiian Airlines’ shareholders, as promised, will receive $18 per share, and both airlines are still set to retain their distinct brands while offering integrated customer service and loyalty benefits.
As this merger unfolds, it will have huge importance in shaping the future of air travel to and from Hawaii, promising improved services and expanded routes for passengers. How it will impact Southwest Airlines Hawaii presence, remains to be seen, as well as the impact on the other airlines serving Hawaii.
I looked at the stocks today and noticed that there is now No Trading for HA stock. I think it must be a done deal.
Please Alaska, don’t F—up this important part of Hawaiian culture. One of the nation’s oldest and it means a great deal to the people of the state.
I have been a flight attendant for over 30 years and a proud AS employee. No company is perfect, but of all the US airlines I could have worked for, AS was always and continues to be my first choice as a flight attendant. HA is in Very good hands. Will everything go smoothly, probably not, but we have amazing capable leaders that will welcome the HA family into the AS family with open arms! The family atmosphere of AS is very evident. We are kind hearted and always tasked to do the right thing. The emails and company news we have rcvd from our leaders over the last 24 hours have been very positive and very compassionate towards welcoming our new HA family members into the AS family. Our company culture is very similar to that of HA. The ohana runs deep at AS too. There will undoubtedly be changes but the future is very bright for a now larger HA/AS family. I and many of my AS coworkers are very excited for our combined future together as part of one great company. Aloha!
We had to ask for a refund on tickets Hawaiian could not honor for flights in November 2022. They policy was to refund all by $2000.00 which they d=said wasw a credit under our account number and could be used on an upcoming flight. Circumstances and health have prevented travel. Will we be able to use our credit after the merger?
Your credit should be good. Some credits have an expiration date. Check yours! When a company buys another company it gets both assets (property) and liabilities (bills and credits owed)
One question I would like to see answered is what type of aircraft will replace the 717’s, which are rapidly approaching their end of life?
Alaska Airlines just removed the last of their Airbus planes from their fleet last year. So if the plan is to replace the 717’s with more 737’s, which are Alaska’s workhouse, what’s to prevent them from decreasing inter-island frequency by using a larger 737 with less frequent flights while still providing the same number of inter-island ‘seats’ they currently operate?
The DOT ‘agreements’ I’ve read don’t specify whether they have to keep the same number of inter-island ‘flights’ or the same number of inter-island ‘seats’; an important detail.
How will the merger disrupt future flights? I’m looking to book with both airlines Spring 2025.
Do we expect to see a return to the Brisbane to Honolulu route which was cancelled durning Covid. Many travellers have been put off travelling to Hawaii due the increased costs of having to spend 1 night of there holiday accommodation in Sydney
Given that Alaska Airlines is an all Boeing 737 airline, what is to become of the aircraft types Hawaiian Airlines fly? Will we see Boeing 737s with Hawaiian or Alaska branding flying interisland?
What will become of the Airbus fleet of HA planes? Retain, replace or retire? Boeing 737 Max replacing A321 Neo?
What will become of HA’s 787s now flying and on order?
Cargo planes for Amazon contract? Airbus or Boeing?
Will the combined airline still dabble in the possibility of flying the Regent Sea Glider inter-island?
Great question! I much prefer Airbus to Boeing for obvious reasons. I hope someone can answer your questions.
What will happen to the Hawaiian call center in Phillippines? Will we call Alaska reps for any Hawaiian air issues?
Just a FYI – most of AS’s customer service calls are handled by AS employees at Sea-Tac, Boise and Chandler, AZ., with one exception…
As you you are probably aware, AS has a robust offering of destinations to Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala. AS needs to serve those primarily Spanish speakers who originate from those destinations – as well as throughout the AS system. AS does use a contract call center somewhere in Central America, I believe Costa Rica.
On a few occasions, I have been randomly connected to the Central America call center and they are helpful – but yet, not always up to speed on lounge questions, 100K upgrades, etc. – but that’s probably a small portion of their overall call volume.
Just like any contract, I’m certain that AS will give an end date to the vendor in the Philippines and begin to bring back those english-speaking calls to the U.S.
AS’s own call center reps (for me) have been pleasant and easy to work with.
Hi,
What will happen to all my thousands of Hawaiian miles?
Flew on AS twice out of LAX over the past week. A supervisor in the Board Room/AS Lounge said that even though the merger was not “approved” they were unofficially informed of plans for LAX. The supervisor said that HA will most likely not move from Bradley to T6 until after the first of the year into 2025.
I found interesting that the supervisor said not to expect the HA A330’s to make the move over from Bradley, and that AS was going to use newly delivered MAX 8’s and 9’s and increase frequencies on the LAX-HNL/OGG routes to make-up for the loss of seats from the A330’s.
The person said that once the 787’s start coming on-line, expect to see “tag” flights from LAX to SEA and other destinations – as HA’s 787’s maintenance will continue at LAX.
AS definitely has the room at T6 to expand and add additional flights. With other airlines gone from T6, AS and AC now have that terminal to themselves.
I have not heard any of this info yet and not sure where one of our sups would have heard that.
Will BofA purchase Barclay’s “book of business” for the Hawaiian credit card program? I cannot imagine that AS will run two separate credit card programs – just too small as compared to AA and US Air from their respective Citibank and Barclays credit card programs that continue to this day.
When will Mileage Plan elite benefits become available on HA metal – especially for the 100k’s and any new benefits on international routes? Also BofA credit card holders – when will those benefits extend to HA metal? Alaska and BofA’s relationship with credit and debit cards goes back to the SeaFirst days.
Will AS offer a “Club 50” program for Hawaii – similar to the Club 49 program for the state of Alaska?