Earlier today I wrote about the fact that Hawaiian Airlines operated its final flight under the “Hawaiian” callsign and flight number. That is due to the fact that Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines have received a single operating certificate.
Alaska and Hawaiian Granted Single Operating Certificate by the FAA
While Alaska Air Group, parent company of Alaska Airlines, always intended to retain two distinct identities for Alaska and Hawaiian post merger, the airline has combined the two brands under a single operating certificate. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted the combined operating certificate after the successful integration of training, policies, procedures and manuals across both airlines.
Ben Minicucci, President and CEO of Alaska Air Group, said this about the change:
“Congratulations to everyone at Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines for getting us to a single operating certificate. This was a year-long, multi-phase effort involving multiple departments and thousands of hours of work. We also appreciate the FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation for their guidance and support as we carefully reviewed and harmonized our processes with a shared focus on safety. This is an important step in our journey as a combined organization, and I’m excited about our future together.”
According to the airline, there are a couple items of note for passengers:
- Passengers will continue to enjoy (or be confused by) two distinct brands in Alaska and Hawaiian.
- While Hawaiian Airlines flights will show the HA designator new flight numbers have been assigned to integrate Hawaiian flights into the Alaska network. Because of this, frequent flyers may need to relearn flight numbers on some of their favorite routes.
The combination of operations under a single operating certificate will also allow the carrier to integrate scheduling, crew integration, and airport and maintenance teams. Also, in April 2026, the two brands will move to a single passenger service system which will transition all flights to AS codes.
Honolulu Based Leadership Changes Go Into Effect
With the two brands combined under a single operating certificate, it also allows for previously announced leadership changes to take effect. Effective immediately:
- Diana Birkett Rakow, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Alaska Airlines, becomes CEO of Hawaiian Airlines
- Jim Landers, Hawaiian Airlines Senior Vice President for Technical Operations, assumes the role of Head of Hawai‘i Operations
- Shelly Parker, Horizon Air’s Vice President of Station Operations and Inflight, becomes Head of Hawai‘i Guest Operations.
The individuals listed above will serve alongside other members of the carrier’s Honolulu leadership team.
My Thoughts
Personally, I still find it odd that the combined airline will operate under two separate brands. I don’t even want to refer to it as Alaska Airlines in these posts as it seems confusing to me.
While a single operating certificate absolutely makes sense here as the two brands integrate themselves, I can’t help but feel like this will cause some confusion for customers in the long run, especially as Alaska Airlines begins to operate more international routes and expand past its traditional West Coast routes (Imagine flying an Alaska Airlines flight between Seattle and Rome on a plane with Hawaiian Airlines branding).
I’m curious to see how long the carrier keeps the two distinct brands and personally feel like they will phase out the Hawaiian Airlines brand over time (though this will cause an uproar in Hawaii). Maybe I’m in the minority here but, aside from some of the large airline groups in Europe (which aren’t integrated with one another), I can’t think of anyone who has used two brands for an extended period of time. In my opinion, Hawaiian will eventually go the way of Song and TED.
Summary
While Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines will retain their respective brands , as far as the government is concerned they are officially one airline as of today. The two carriers have combined under a single operating certificate that will use the “Alaska” callsign.
(Images courtesy Alaska Airlines)