Alaska Airlines plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a transaction that is likely to take more than a year to complete and could make flights more expensive for travellers.
The sale, valued at about $1.9 billion and subject to government approval, would expand the airline’s fleet to 365 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, the airline said. The merger would make Honolulu a “major hub” for Alaska Airlines, allowing it to connect passengers to destinations in Asia and the Pacific.
However, the company said it plans to maintain both the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines brands while integrating them into a “single operating platform”.
“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to create a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for travellers on the West Coast and in Hawai’i “We have a long and deep respect for Hawaiian Airlines, for its role as a top employer in Hawai’i, and for how its brand and people carry the warm culture of aloha around the globe.”
Minicucci added that the airline is “fully committed to investing in the communities of Hawai’i and maintaining the robust Neighbor Island service that Hawaiian travellers have come to expect”.
“At a very basic level, when you hear about two airlines merging, one thing comes to mind: and that means less competition,” Nastro said. “One less airline means one less competitor, and as consumers we want all the competitors we can [get].”
Still, it may not be as costly as other similar mergers, such as JetBlue and Spirit Airlines.
“On a micro level, when you look at it, Alaska and Hawaiian don’t really compete on a lot of routes,” Nastro added. “If you look at where they do overlap, we also see the big four (American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines) competing on those routes. I don’t expect prices to go up dramatically, [but] the principle is still there.