If you hold miles on both Alaska and Hawaiian, you’ll want to know what’s coming in the new year with the planned acquisition. Until that happens, both carriers remain competitors and independent.
SEC Filing – Schedule 14A Hawaiian Airlines
We received a notification today of the first of upcoming changes to the HawaiianMiles program that’s associated with the purchase of Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska Airlines. This has to do with the mileage program between the two carriers. Issued by the SEC, this agency ensures compliance with US security laws by brokers, stock exchanges, and other market participants. Schedule 14A sounds like an airline seat, but it’s actually the document that prohibits material misrepresentations and omissions.
Guest FAQ Update – What does this mean for HawaiianMiles?
- Miles that you earn with Hawaiian Airlines do not expire.
- Prior to the acquisition, if approved (due to occur at or before June 2025), you may continue to earn and redeem HawaiianMiles as you did prior to the announcement.
- Your existing miles will be honored – both before and after the combination is official.
- After the merger, the two airlines’ loyalty programs will be integrated into a single shared loyalty program, and your miles will be carried into the new program.
- Members who qualify for Pualani Elite status with Hawaiian Airlines will also see their status carried across into the combined program.
- While the elite tiers of any combined program may not have the same names as our Pualani Elite tiers, it is expected that they will offer comparable or better benefits.
- The same is true for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard. You can continue to spend and earn miles as you do today. If the merger is approved, that could change since Alaska uses Bank of America and Hawaiian is with Barclays.
HawaiianMiles program and points will become part of Alaska MileagePlan following acquisition.
“Once the airlines’ combination is complete, Hawaiian Airlines’ existing customers will enjoy the benefits of the industry’s highest-value customer loyalty program, earning and redeeming miles and receiving elite benefits on the full complement of Oneworld Alliance airlines, expanded global lounge access and benefits of the combined program’s credit card.” Read below what that actually means.
Hawaiian/Alaska combined: as part of OneWorld Alliance
Alaska’s acquisition brings Hawaiian Airlines into Alaska’s Oneworld alliance membership. That is a huge uplift for HawaiianMiles in terms of the miles being more useful across not only Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines, but on a total of thirteen partner airlines. Hawaiian Pualani elite members will have status extended across all Oneworld airlines.
As a possible downside, however, Oneworld members will have access to Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyer awards, meaning more competition for those seats. With Oneworld, many more customers will get to share in rewards currently only available to HawaiianMiles members.
The value of point transfers between the two programs is still being worked out, as was indicated by Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci on Sunday (press conference link)
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Will this merger see fares to American Samoa drop according to other island routes?
I’ve purchased 4 reservations for Feb 2024 from Sacramento to honolulu will this merger affect my reservations.
For years I have gone through articles of this site that pertains to the ‘travel industry elements’ primarily honed with Hawaii. Always informative and useful in planning and making me to execute sound choices. At present, is the Alaska and Hawaiian airlines merger, and what entails. As a HA Pualani platinum 75k , this is an article that answers my inquiries, and how I need to proceed. // For which, I am very grateful.
Who or will their be more than one interisland airlines? And will they still have lower rates for locals to fly back and forth between the islands to see family?
there is presently Southwest Airlines flying interisland service between HNL, ITO, KOA, LIH and OGG that would keep the fares at bay. There may not be too many of the vicious fare warring as in the past. However, with Southwest performing customer service from checking in, inflight and baggage service here in Hawaii with their version of “Aloha Spirit” from the very beginning with ‘local staffing’, and two ‘regular’ checked bags at no cost … I know this airlines would be a formidable force for interisland air travel.
Will inter-island fleet network remain the same after acquisition?
Hi Bob.
In the very short term – yes. After that, no. Planes are too old and need replacement.
Aloha.
Alaska is a 100% Boeing airline. When they acquired Virgin America they sold off Virgin’s A321 aircraft. In my mind we could probably see the inter-island 717’s replaced with Boeing MAX 8s. I can possibly see the A321s leave as they get replaced with MAX 8s, 9s or even MAX 10s that could be certified by the end of 2024. The 787s that will soon fly for Hawaiian are Boeing and in time they could replace all the A330s. A major factor in comfort on the A330 is the 2-4-2 seating, meaning you never have to cross more than 1 person to get to the aisle. I will be on the first 787 from LAX-OGG in May and will reserve my judgement on the 3-3-3 seating until we ride it!