Hawaiian just raised the stakes with its biggest giveaway ever. And there is much more to that than is apparent on first glance. Alaska Airlines’ Hawaiian Air made a major move that puts pressure on Southwest by solidifying its grip on Hawaii travelers, launching its largest-ever sweepstakes: a 10 million HawaiianMiles giveaway that’s unique. The timing is no coincidence—this comes as Southwest Airlines continues to look for new ways to push deeper into the Hawaii market, increasing competition on the state’s dominant carrier.
Hawaiian’s Huakaʻi by Hawaiian program, which offers special perks exclusively for residents of Hawaii, announced last year, offers free checked bags and a quarterly discount on interisland travel. Now, with a massive mileage giveaway, the airline is putting its stake in the ground further, doubling down on loyalty as it faces yet another uniquely competitive landscape.
In case you don’t think this relates to the bigger aspects of Hawaii tourism, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is all about positioning Alaska/Hawaiian in relation to Southwest Airlines and what is ahead for both visitors and residents as that evolves. This is a seemingly never ending back and forth dance.
Read: Southwest Will Change The Way You Fly To Hawaii—Big Time.
The offer leaves the question of what Southwest has in mind for Hawaii next, and specifically, how will they respond to this pressure.
The growing battle for Hawaii travelers.
Hawaiian’s sweepstakes automatically enters all existing Huakaʻi by Hawaiian members and allows new members to join by February 16 for a chance to win. Thirty winners will each receive 365,000 HawaiianMiles, which according to HA’s press release is enough for nine roundtrip flights between Hawaii and and the mainland, or 48 one-way interisland flights.
While Hawaiian is celebrating, at least in theory, the giveaway more realistically underscores competitive threats it faces. Clearly Southwest is not done with Hawaii in any way, shape or form. They previously reshaped the interisland market, pressuring fares and forcing Hawaiian to adjust over the past five years. Meanwhile, the Alaska Airlines takeover of Hawaiian adds another layer of the unknown.
How far will Hawaiian/Alaska go to try to push Southwest out of this market?
Southwest’s interisland model in Hawaii is fundamentally different from Hawaiian Airlines’ traditional approach. Instead of operating a separate fleet for interisland routes, Southwest uses the same Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that fly between the mainland and Hawaii, routing them through the islands before continuing on to their next destination. This strategy allows Southwest to maximize aircraft utilization, reduce costs including by avoiding a separate island base, and offer lower fares, making it a critical component of their long-term success in Hawaii. By keeping aircraft moving between mainland and interisland routes, Southwest avoids the inefficiencies of a dedicated interisland fleet while maintaining frequent service at a lower cost to them, putting pressure on Hawaiian’s dominance in the market.
For Southwest, which thrives on market disruption, this too moment could be a turning point, or could mark something that hasn’t yet been revealed about Southwest Hawaii plans. If history serves as any guide, Southwest won’t sit back quietly, and in fact we know this to be true. For one, this giveaway may propel them to introduce new Hawaii-centric incentives or further fare sales aimed directly at Hawaiian’s core customer base. But there’s even more about to come from Southwest, even as we don’t yet have the specifics to reveal of just what is up their sleeve.
What happens next?
The next moves belong to Southwest. The airline has so far avoided direct loyalty-based competition with Hawaiian, instead relying on its low fares interisland, free checked bags, and no change fees to attract customers. But with Hawaiian significantly escalating its resident-focused incentives, Southwest may be about to shift gears on Hawaii.
A likely first response could come in the form of a Hawaii-specific Rapid Rewards promotion, offering bonus points for interisland flights or discount fare bundles targeting frequent travelers. Alternatively, Southwest could lean into its reputation for low fares by launching an aggressive fare sale to compete directly with Hawaiian’s loyalty push.
For now, Alaska’s Hawaiian is celebrating what it calls its biggest giveaway ever, rewarding loyalty at a crucial time. But with Southwest’s history of competitive moves, this could be just the beginning of a new chapter in Hawaii’s ongoing airline battle.
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Thanks BOH for the valuable Information on the Hawaiian Air promotion. We can always depend on BOH to help find the best ways to save on Hawaii travel.
All depends on the taxable value of 365,000 miles? I noticed they didn’t disclose the declared value. IMO I think prizes are taxed at gift tax rates. Maybe cheaper if you just purchased the airfare outright. Look to see the value in how much it would cost you if you had to purchase 365000 miles from Hawaiian website? In the title it states giveaway but below it declares 30 winners will receive 365000 miles. Until you know the taxable value you don’t really know if it was worth it or not.
Not only do you get 365,000 miles you also get federal and state income tax MSRP or purchase value at the time of winning. You still are liable for the taxes even if you don’t use the miles. Tax write off for Hawaiian/Alaska not so much for the winner. Nothing is ever free.
It really depends on how much SW values the inter-island market. Not long ago comments here indicated SW’s inter-island service was unacceptable because it was disrupted by delayed mainland flight. Plus the Max Jets were “inefficient on short hauls”. SW and all other majors fly directly to all 4 islands. So stepping out of the Internet-island market is probably SW’s next move. None of the other majors need or want it either. So this give-away could blow up in Hawaiin’s hand.
I love Hawaiian Airlines, but these giveaways feel like a Band-Aid. If they really want to compete, they need to fix their issues incl. pricing, reservation system.
This just feels like a reaction to Southwest eating away at their interisland dominance. Hawaiian used to have a monopoly, and now they’re scrambling to win people back. Maybe they should have treated local travelers better before Southwest showed up.
Soooooooooo…Hawaiian is going to improve their abysmal financial state by giving away free stuff to Hawaiian residents at a time when Southwest is likely going to reduce their service, particularly their interisland service?
Ummmm…the article doesn’t mention the details of the promotion, which would be critical.
Southwest already gives away something much better than Hawaiian: free bags and no change fees. I’ll take that over a one-time giveaway any day.
Why do you think we ride United to Hawaii? Free bags add up very quickly.
I have a hard time trusting anything Hawaiian Airlines does right now. They’re in a weird transition time with Alaska, and I’m not convinced they even know what their future looks like. Southwest might not be perfect either, but they’re consistent.
Love this! Hawaiian Airlines has been through so much lately, and it’s great to see them giving back to their loyal customers. Southwest may have changed interisland travel, but Hawaiian is still the heart of the islands.
Hawaiian’s giveaway is a nice gesture, but let’s be real—it’s also a smart PR move while they navigate this Alaska merger. Southwest, on the other hand, doesn’t need to do giveaways when they’re already offering two free checked bags and solid fares.
Doesn’t really do much, as I’m willing to wager if you pick any random Hawaiian or Southwest inter-island flight a majority of people on board will be tourists
Rewards just for Hawaii residents? That doesn’t help tourism.
Only for Hawaii residents?