Alaska Airlines has finished the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and are now joining forces to create a powerful alliance with over 90 years of history each, while keeping both brands intact. Here’s a quick breakdown of what this means for travelers and award flight enthusiasts:
What’s Happening with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines?
Both airlines will remain separate brands but are working together to offer more benefits for travelers. There won’t be any immediate changes to day-to-day operations, as the full integration process could take up to 18 months. During this time, Alaska and Hawaiian will keep separate websites, reservation systems, and loyalty programs.
Together, both airlines are now serving 141 destinations through combined networks and over 1,200 destinations via the oneworld Alliance and global partners.
New Perks Coming Your Way
Although the airlines are staying separate for now, some new benefits are already being introduced:
- More International Destinations: You’ll get access to 29 international destinations through Alaska and Hawaiian, plus over 1,200 cities via the oneworld® Alliance and Alaska’s global partners.
- Cross-Airline Bookings: Soon, you’ll be able to book Hawaiian Airlines flights on Alaska’s website and Alaska Airlines flights on Hawaiian’s. This expands your booking options to destinations across North America, Hawaii, Asia, and Australia.
- Lounge Access: Alaska Lounge members can now access Alaska Lounges when flying on Hawaiian Airlines, just as they do with oneworld partners.
- Seamless Miles Transfers: Starting later this month, you’ll be able to transfer miles between Alaska’s Mileage Plan™ and HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 ratio, for free. This gives you more flexibility when booking award flights.
Loyalty Program Changes
Both airlines will maintain their own loyalty programs for now, but a combined program is expected to roll out in 2025. Some changes to look forward to:
- Status Matching: Elite members from both airlines will be able to match their status between the two programs starting later this year.
- Earning Miles Across Airlines: In the coming months, you’ll be able to earn HawaiianMiles on Alaska flights and vice versa.
- Combined Loyalty Program: By mid-2025, a unified loyalty program will launch, offering enhanced benefits.
Status Match Between Alaska and Hawaiian
Later this year, elite members in either program will be able to link accounts to have their status instantly matched. And if you have earned elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) in both Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles in 2024, you’ll have the potential to be awarded an even higher status based on your combined EQM balance.
For example, if you’re a HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold member who earned 20,000 elite-qualifying miles this year, and also have MVP status in Mileage Plan with 20,000 elite-qualifying miles earned this year, your combined EQM total of 40,000 means you’ll be awarded Pualani Platinum status in HawaiianMiles and MVP Gold status in Mileage Plan for 2025.
Status matches based on your current status
| If you have: | You’ll be matched to: |
|---|---|
| Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status |
| Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, or MVP Gold 100K status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status | Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status | Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status |
Status matches based on combined elite-qualifying miles (EQM) balance
| If your combined EQM balance reaches: | The status you’ll receive in Alaska Mileage Plan: | The status you’ll receive in HawaiianMiles: |
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 EQMs | MVP | Pualani Gold |
| 40,000 EQMs | MVP Gold | Pualani Platinum |
| 75,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 75K | Pualani Platinum |
| 100,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 100K | Pualani Platinum |
Special for Hawai’i Residents
Hawai’i residents can look forward to Huaka’i by Hawaiian, a new program offering discounts on interisland flights, including 10% off one booking per quarter, a free checked bag, and access to special deals.
What Does This Mean for AwardFares Users?
This merger offers expanded options and flexibility, especially for those booking international flights or wanting to combine miles between the two airlines. While full integration is still a way off, the immediate benefits—like expanded destinations, cross-airline bookings, and lounge access—should make your award travel experience smoother.
For Mileage Plan users, we expect you can see availability on Hawaiian Airlines as soon as both programs are integrated.
HawaiianMiles users will be able to use AwardFares and search for availability on Mileage Plan, as you will be able to transfer miles between both programs at a 1:1 ratio.
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