Alaska Airlines to Buy Hawaiian Airlines — Here’s What It Means for Travelers

Alaska Airlines plans to purchase Hawaiian Airlines in a transaction that will likely take more than a year to complete and may make flights more expensive for travelers.

The sale, which is valued at about $1.9 billion and subject to government approval, would expand the airline’s fleet to 365 narrow and wide-body aircraft, according to the airline. The merger would make Honolulu a “key hub” for Alaska Airlines and allow it to connect passengers to destinations in Asia and across the Pacific. 

However, the company said it would plan to maintain both the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines brands (named the best domestic carrier by Travel + Leisure readers) while integrating both into a “single operating platform.”

“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai’i travelers,” Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines’ CEO, said in a statement obtained by Travel + Leisure. “We have a longstanding and deep respect for Hawaiian Airlines, for their role as a top employer in Hawai’i, and for how their brand and people carry the warm culture of aloha around the globe.”

Minicucci added the carrier was “fully committed to investing in the communities of Hawai’i and maintaining robust Neighbor Island service that Hawaiian Airlines travelers have come to expect.”

While the sale will likely take 12 to 18 months to complete, Katy Nastro, a travel expert at going.com, told T+L this merger may end up impacting customers’ wallets in the end.

“At the very basic level, whenever you hear about two airlines merging one thing comes to mind: and that means less competition,” Nastro said. “One less airline means one less competitor and as a consumer, we want all the competitors we can [get].”

That said, it may not be as costly as other similar mergers, like JetBlue and Spirit Airlines.

“At the micro level when you look closer, Alaska and Hawaiian don’t really compete on a ton of routes,” Nastro added. “When you look at where they do have overlap, we do also see the big four (American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines) competing on those routes. I don’t anticipate prices are going to dramatically rise, [but] the principle is still behind it.”