Hawaiian Airlines CEO On Boeing 787, Alaska Merger And Staying Unique

05.05.2024 - 13:13 / forbes.com / Peter Ingram / Brian Sumers / Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines is known for many things like its stellar on-time reputation, serving hot meals on longer flights in economy class and for its famously Hawaiian approach to onboard service. This year, however, the airline is getting recognition for other milestones, namely a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet and a proposed combination with Alaska Airlines, all under the leadership of longtime airline executive and CEO Peter Ingram.

If the Department of Justice (DOJ) approves the acquisition, the airline could be stretching its wings a lot farther.

Brian Sumers, founder and editor of The Airline Observer, says he hopes the DOJ approves the merger, citing an otherwise “very small addressable market for a 21st-century major U.S. airline,” referring to the airline’s main inter-island and Hawaii-mainland operation.

“This business of focusing only on one state is a tough one,” Sumers adds in his insightful subscription newsletter read throughout the industry. “The good news is that flights from the Lower 48 to Hawaii have robust demand and solid revenue.”

Sumers refers to Hawaiian’s most recent earnings call and highlights Ingram’s “tight control” on maintaining a strong future for the airline and that its board seems to be happy with the decision to combine with Alaska.

In a recent interview, Hawaiian Airlines’ Ingram shares his thoughts on how the leisure-focused airline has made bold decisions to get to where it is today. And what it has planned for “tomorrow” should the tie-up be approved.

There are two main steps. One is already finished, and that is that the shareholders voted to move forward with the combination. The DOJ will need to review the tie-up and address any competition concerns before approving it. The original application was filed in January, and we feel very good about the combination because it is pro-consumer and pro-competition. There are not a lot of overlapping routes between Alaska and Hawaiian, but where there is, there are other carriers also flying the same city pairs.

The combination is different from what other airlines have done in that there will be two operating brands on a single airline platform. Both Alaska and Hawaiian have fiercely loyal followings in their home markets. This was evident in Hawaii when the merger was announced with many locals worried about their home-grown airline losing its uniquely Hawaiian touch. While the airline won’t be locally owned anymore, both brands will operate separately meaning the Hawaiian touches will stay the same. Both Hawaiian and Alaska are almost a century old, and each brand is very important to the community in its home markets.

Since Alaska Airlines is a member, this would be the plan over time for Hawaiian to join the