Alaska Airlines Completes $1.9 Billion Acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines
Alaska Airlines revealed today that is has completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The DOT approved the deal on Tuesday but with key requirements which both airlines had to agree to. That included things like 1:1 transfers between the programs and maintaining the value of miles.
The Justice Department in August chose not to block the deal that was announced in December. Alaska and Hawaiian are respectively the 5th- and 10th-largest domestic U.S. airlines.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines now begin the work to secure a single operating certificate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will allow the two airlines to operate as a single carrier with an integrated passenger service system.
For now, the airlines will continue to operate as separate carriers with no immediate changes to operations and will maintain separate websites, reservation systems and loyalty programs until later in the integration process.
Alaska Airlines said that later this month, you’ll be able to seamlessly transfer miles between Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 ratio for no charge. For example, if you have miles in a HawaiianMiles account and you want to redeem for a flight on Alaska or an Alaska global partner, simply transfer the miles to your Mileage Plan account at no charge and book your award travel at alaskaair.com.
Then in the coming months, you’ll be able to accrue Mileage Plan miles or HawaiianMiles when flying either airline. In early 2025, you’ll be able to redeem your Mileage Plan miles directly on all Hawaiian flights including international destinations. And you’ll be able to combine Hawaiian flights with Alaska or partner flights when redeeming your miles.
If you’re an elite flyer with Alaska or Hawaiian, you’ll soon be able to link your accounts to automatically enjoy equivalent status on the other airline. If you have elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) in both programs, your status will be based on the highest tier you qualify for based on your combined EQM total.
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