Alaska Airlines to Aquire Hawaiian Airlines in $1.9 Billion Deal

Hawaiʻi’s largest carrier will merge with Alaska Airlines, which is based in Seattle.

In news that shocked travelers and local residents, Alaska Airlines announced Sunday that it will acquire the Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. will pay $18 a share for Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., the parent of Hawaiian Airlines. (Hawaiian’s stock closed at $4.86 a share on Friday.)

In a press release, the airlines say the combined company—which will be based in Seattle—will unlock more destinations for travelers and expand the choice of critical air service options and access throughout the Pacific region, U.S. Mainland and globally.

“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawaii travelers,” Minicucci said in the news release. “We have a longstanding and deep respect for Hawaiian Airlines, for their role as a top employer in Hawaiʻi, and for how [its] brand and people carry the warm culture of aloha around the globe.”

Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines’s president and CEO, added: “Since 1929, Hawaiian Airlines has been an integral part of life in Hawaiʻi, and together with Alaska Airlines we will be able to deliver more for our guests, employees and the communities that we serve.

Hawaiian Airlines is in its 95th year and is the state’s largest carrier, with about 150 daily inter-island flights, and nonstop flights between Hawaiʻi and 15 U.S. gateway cities, and service to American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Tahiti.

The airlines said in the announcement that the merger will:

• Expand the fifth-largest U.S. airline to a fleet of 365 narrow and wide body airplanes
• Make Honolulu a key hub for the combined airline with expanded service for residents of Hawaiʻi to the continental U.S. and creating new connections to Asia and the Pacific for travelers across the U.S.
• Maintain a commitment to Hawaiʻi, including “robust” neighbor island service
• Maintain and grow a union-represented workforce in Hawaiʻi

More to come on this.