Alaska Airlines’ proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, announced earlier this week, has the potential to alter the existing U.S. air travel landscape significantly. Whether that would prove to be for better or worse remains to be seen, but plenty of experts are already weighing in with predictions.
If approved by federal regulators, the historic agreement would see America’s fifth-largest airline and tenth-largest domestic carrier join forces to create a competitor that controls more than half of the market to Hawaii, one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world.
There are undoubtedly consumer advocates and others who will be concerned about the Alaska-Hawaiian deal’s impacts on fair market competition in the commercial aviation sector. With the merger resulting in fewer competitors serving those destinations to which these West Coast carriers fly, it could jack up fare prices even further amid an era that has already seen inflation drive the cost of flying sky-high.
In this sense, the acquisition could prove detrimental to the flying public, since, historically, airline mergers decrease the opportunity for competition and therefore drive flight prices up. William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told Condé Nast Traveler, “Fares will rise within Hawaii; between Hawaii and the mainland; and throughout the Pacific Rim, from Australia to Japan.”
Despite the various misgivings that might arise, there are also some potentially positive implications and ways that consumers stand to benefit from the arrangement. For some air travel analysts, the conjoining of these two smaller-scale airlines makes sense, since their respective destination maps, which rather complement each other, could create some advantages for travelers.
PHOTO: Alaska Airlines Boeing 737. (Photo via Alaska Airlines)
One of the main benefits to frequent flyers would be that the two brands’ loyalty programs would be combined into one, as both airlines would operate under a shared air operator’s certificate (AOC), The Manual pointed out. However, in its announcement, Alaska made it clear that the two airlines, although combining their resources, would preserve their own brand identities post-merger.
If acquired, Hawaiian Airlines would also become part of a major global airline network, the Oneworld Alliance—which Alaska Airlines joined in 2021—and which would afford customers of Hawaiian Airlines the streamlined ability to book and take their trips with other Oneworld partners.
Under the newly integrated loyalty program, this would mean that members would be able to earn and redeem rewards miles on more than 25 global partner airlines. Currently, HawaiianMiles program members can only redeem rewards on Hawaiian Airlines’ flights to, from and within the Aloha State.
It would also mean that elite-tier loyalty program members will be granted an equivalent level of elite benefits with other Oneworld member airlines, although it's not yet clear how those tiers would align. The Manual illustrated the discrepancy between the Hawaiian Miles program’s 40,000 miles needed to achieve Pualani Platinum status and the Oneworld Mileage plan’s requirement of 100,000 miles for its highest-level Gold status.
In fact, it looks like HawaiianMiles members stand to benefit the most from an expanded shared loyal program with Alaska. “Hawaiian’s member base includes significant loyalty amongst residents of Hawaii, all of whom will enjoy the increased attractiveness and utility of our combined network, as well as the entire suite of our airline partners, including access to seamless travel and redemption across Oneworld,” Alaska Airlines’ chief financial officer, Shane Tackett, told The Manual.
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