On the 17th of September, 2024, the United States Department of Transportation informed the world – and two airlines – that they would not stand in the way of a takeover of Hawaiian by Alaska, merging the two airlines under a (in the United States) novel concept of running one airline with two brands.
PC: “Rainbow handshake” by parameter_bond is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
That is the first of several angles that emerge from the approval of the takeover of Hawaiian, which began in earnest later on that day when Alaska Airlines announced a new management team to take over Hawaiian upon the closing of the deal later in the week.
In looking ahead, though, there are several items to keep an eye on as this takeover progresses. Some of them have already been answered, with the agreement with the DOT stipulating what needs to be kept – such as frequent flyer points transferring over at a 1:1 ratio to the new merged entity, among other stipulations.
But there is a laundry list of things that still will need to be sorted out in the months ahead. Some of those items are things that will take careful negotiation. And some will require a steady hand by management. Among those things,
- The seniority lists of unionized Hawaiian and Alaska employees are being merged as part of the union consolidation. It is important to monitor the pilots closely, as the merger involves two airlines with different aircraft fleets. The merging of seniority lists can impact the priority for popular routes and the opportunity to transition to larger aircraft. During the integration of airline operations, there may be temporary barriers between Hawaiian and Alaska pilot crews (called ‘fencing’).
- The consolidation of maintenance operations is an important aspect to monitor. Currently, both airlines will maintain their operations under two different certificates. However, the ultimate plan is to merge into a single certificate for all Alaska and Hawaiian fleet aircraft. Achieving this will require extensive coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and will take time. This process could take up to two years, similar to the duration it took for Alaska to fully integrate the operations of Virgin America.
- Fleet management and the routes that airlines will operate are important to monitor. There have been reports that Alaska Airlines may need to replace Hawaiian Airlines’ Boeing 717s for interisland operations. Additionally, the Boeing 787s may be used for longer-distance routes from Honolulu or Seattle. While these decisions may not be immediate, it is possible that in the future, a Hawaiian Airlines plane may be seen in Seattle, flying to Tokyo Haneda.
More details of these and other elements of merging the airline’s operations can be found in a letter that was written to Alaska Airlines by the Dept. of Transportation, on the process of merging Virgin America with Alaska.
Most of what was written then will be relevant to what will happen now with Hawaiian.
As to the more novel idea of running one airline under two brands, as mentioned in the above-noted letter, Alaska tried that with Virgin but eventually decided to just drop the Virgin America name altogether and run the entire airline under the Alaska name. And as you can read from the linked letter, back in 2017 the FAA didn’t know how to certify such an entity. It could be that they have changed the rules or are more flexible with the idea. The keen observer will have to see how that unfolds.
PC: “Hawaiian A330 N361HA JAL 787 JA835J DSC_1607” by wbaiv is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
It’s important, also, to keep an eye on United Airlines as they act based on this takeover.
They currently have a marketing partnership with Hawaiian Airlines, which may end if the takeover happens, and Hawaiian Airlines joins the oneworld Alliance. United Airlines is part of the Star Alliance. It will be interesting to see what they decide, especially considering their past interest in flying interisland in Hawaii. (read about this in “How Times Have Changed, in Politics Hawaii).
The other question is what happens with Southwest Airlines. With them currently having boardroom drama, there have been questions of the long-term of Southwest’s interisland services. So far the boardroom issues have not led to any decisions, but stay tuned.
As the aviation industry continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to observe how these developments unfold and shape the future of air travel, particularly in Hawaii, for residents and tourists alike.