The integration of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines has officially commenced, and with it comes some serious changes to how the two carriers have historically operated.
It starts with combining and expanding the two networks, which will soon see Seattle turned into an international gateway, among other changes. The merger will also bring about some big upgrades to the premium experience offered by the carriers, along with other changes to loyalty, fleeting and more.
Now that the integration is underway, Alaska Airlines is hosting an investor day in New York to share more about its vision for how the combined airlines will operate.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the so-called “Alaska Accelerate” growth strategy.
Long-haul flights from Seattle
Headlining the announcement is that Alaska will turn its hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) into an international gateway.
That means the airline will launch long-haul flights from Seattle. Its inaugural destination, Tokyo’s Narita Internatrional Airport, will take off on May 12, and seats will be available for purchase on Tuesday.
The airline will then follow up with another long-haul route to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN) beginning in October. This route will go on sale early next year.
Alaska will deploy Hawaiian Airlines’ Airbus A330-200s on its inaugural transpacific routes from Seattle. The flights will operate using Hawaiian flight numbers until the two carriers get a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. Both flights will be bookable via Alaska and Hawaiian channels.
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Note that the aircraft used for these flights may change as Hawaiian adds more widebodies to its fleet, a carrier spokesperson told TPG.
Speaking about this expansion, Alaska Airlines chief commercial officer Andrew Harrison told TPG in an interview that Seattle is the sixth-largest domestic gateway for flights to Asia and Oceania, while Europe is the tenth. Plus, “the beauty of it is that both Narita and Seoul are already served by Hawaiian, so all the infrastructure, the airports, all of that stuff is already plug and play.”
He added that “Seattle is the largest West Coast hub of any U.S. carrier. We’re two times Delta’s North American seats, we have 28% more seats than United in San Francisco. And then the other thing is that the fastest way to Asia is over Seattle. Not San Francisco and Los Angeles.”
As part of this announcement, Alaska will move Hawaiian’s existing flights from Hawaii to Narita to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) instead. This will operate on a twice-daily basis.
“We’re going to move the Narita slot to Seattle, and the Honolulu to Narita was losing a fair bit of money, and so moving it up to Seattle with a point of sale strength in the U.S., we believe is going to be accretive from day one,” he said.
Two other tail winds that support long-haul expansion in Seattle are managed corporate travel and cargo, Harrison said.
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Speaking about corporate travel, Harrison shared that “the corporate managed accounts for Alaska Airlines spend over $300 million a year on international travel alone out of Seattle, and our top five corporates spend $200 million. That is corporate travel that we do not participate in today that we can directly participate in tomorrow.”
As for cargo, Harrison didn’t share any numbers, but the airline says that these new routes will also cater to strong cargo demand.
While Alaska will start with two transpacific destinations from Seattle, the carrier is promising that by 2030, it’ll have at least 12 long-haul routes from the city.
Other network, fleet changes
In addition to the new long-haul flying, Alaska is making several other changes to its network.
This includes rethinking how it banks its hubs. Harrison said this is especially important in Seattle and Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX) because Seattle is already at capacity, and nearby Portland still has some slack.
Going forward, Alaska will funnel connections via Seattle for its new long-haul routes, while Portland will take over some of the other connecting traffic that has historically gone via Seattle.
Several other changes on the horizon include the addition of 20% more seats between Seattle and Honolulu, accomplished by upgauging three of the airline’s six daily nonstop to be operated by Hawaiian’s wide-body aircraft.
In addition to the aforementioned deployments, Alaska will also use an Airbus A330 between Seattle and Anchorage during the peak summer season, and it’ll fly an A330 from Sacramento to Honolulu as well.
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The airline will also add new nonstop routes from San Francisco to both Kona on Hawaii’s “Big Island” and Lihue on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Kona service will operate four times weekly beginning on June 12, while Lihue flights will operate three times a week starting on June 13.
Alaska will also increase utilization of Hawaiian’s Airbus A321s, A330s and Boeing 787s in the coming months. (The airline says that Hawaiian’s Airbus A321s will fly 25% more than they did before the merger.)
In terms of the fleet, Alaska spent recent years consolidating its operations to Boeing 737 aircraft. The Hawaiian integration undoes those synergies since the Honolulu-based carrier operates Airbus A321s and A330s. Hawaiian also flies Boeing 717s, which Alaska does not have.
That said, Harrison says the carrier has a plan for its new consolidated fleet.
“The Boeing 737-8, -9 and -10 are really very ideal aircraft for the historical Alaska network… The Boeing 787s are perfect for longer-haul growth… The only aircraft that’s in the near-field here is the Boeing 717 operating neighboring island service, which we are going to have to look at replacing.”
As for the remaining Airbus A330s and A321s, Alaska seems content to keep them deployed in existing markets.
Premium economy is coming
Now that Alaska Airlines will fly across the ocean, the airline says that it needs an international premium economy product.
Hawaiian opted not to install premium economy on its Airbus A330s or new Boeing 787s, so these jets will undergo a retrofit program to install this popular cabin in the coming years. “They’re very much under-premium,” Harrison said about Hawaiian’s cabin configurations.
The details and timeline are still in the air, but adding premium economy to these planes should come as no surprise.
This intermediate cabin between business class and economy has soared in popularity (and profitability) in recent years.
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“The premium economy cabin on international routes is sometimes spoken to as one of the most profitable cabins. It’s just a real sweet spot and there’s demand for that type of product,” according to Harrison.
New premium credit card
Alaska has clearly heard the news that cobranded credit cards are where the money is. (Just ask Delta that’s brought in about $7 billion this year from its exclusive Amex deal.)
Alaska has never had a premium credit card, but that’ll change next summer when the carrier launches one with a $395 annual fee
Unlike the Big 3 U.S. airlines, which include lounge access for their top-of-the-line credit cards, Alaska’s version will include some other unique perks aimed at capturing sign-ups and providing more value than “getting into crowded lounges,” said Harrison.
These benefits include a so-called Global Companion Award Certificate (similar to the airline’s existing companion fare, but redeemable globally on partner airlines), three times miles on foreign and dining purchases, a faster path to elite status and much more.
Details are mum about what travelers can expect from this new card, but waitlist sign-ups start today at alaskaair.com/premium-card. Travelers who join the waitlist before Dec. 31, 2024, will enjoy an exclusive offer, Alaska said.
Major lounge upgrades
Alaska will further invest in its most luxurious travel experiences to boost its premium appeal.
This includes unveiling new lounges in Honolulu and San Diego, as well as opening an all-new “flagship international lounge” in Seattle by 2027.
Alaska’s media team cut Harrison off from spilling the beans on this new facility (“I can’t tell Zach how big it’s going to be, can I?”), but Harrison promised that Alaska will be doubling its lounge footprint and that the new space will be significantly bigger than Alaska’s North Satellite lounge in Seattle, which currently measures nearly 16,000 square feet.
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It’ll be interesting to see how Alaska markets this new lounge when it opens. In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of business-class-only lounges, so it’s possible that this facility will be reserved for those seated in the pointy end of the plane paying the big bucks (or miles).
Alaska already announced premium upgrades coming to its fleet with more premium- and first-class seats, and this announcement builds on that work that’s already underway.
Bottom line
All in all, Alaska Airlines has laid out its vision for what a combined Alaska and Hawaiian look like.
The airline is doubling down on premium — a popular move these days in the airline industry — while also launching long-haul flights from Seattle.
Other upcoming changes include upgraded lounges, retimed and rebanked flights, an all-new premium credit card and much more.
It’s no doubt an exciting time to be an Alaska Airlines flyer, and I, for one, can’t wait to see what comes next.
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