Alaska Air names Hawaii advisory board to help guide $1.9B merger deal
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Alaska Airlines named a new 16-member Hawaii Community Advisory Board on Monday as it prepares to complete a historic merger with Hawaiian Air.
The $1.9 billion deal was announced last month.
The advisory board has local leaders from the non-profit, education, healthcare, business, tourism and agriculture sectors. Hawaii News Now spoke with some advisory board members who talked about the opportunity for the community to have a seat at the table.
“They recognize the importance of Native Hawaiian perspective to be in the decision making process,” said Kuhio Lewis, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement CEO, who is on the board.
The airline’s CEO says it’s had an advisory board in Alaska for four decades and the airline has served Hawaii for 16 years.
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“I think we are there to be a sounding board. I’m an Alaska member and a Hawaiian member,” said Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat, advisory board member and Honua Consulting president.
Advisory board members say consumers want details on the transition for mileage members and credit card users.
“I think the more they can make it seamless particularly for families like ours that do utilize the domestic U.S. continent route as well as the inter-island routes,” said Watson-Sproat said. “I think there’s a lot of potential if they do this transition correctly.”
Lewis added: “There’s a lot of families connected to Hawaiian Airlines, the brand and also employed by Hawaiian Airlines so finding a balance where we don’t impact employees I think is important.”
“I think there’s a lot of anxiety. This is a big move,” he said.
Daniel Chun, Alaska Airlines Regional vice president for Hawaii, said the board’s insights will “guide our decision-making, ensuring that our services and initiatives not only resonate with Hawaiʻi residents, but also foster sustainable growth.”
In 2021, Ohana by Hawaiian pulled out of Lanai and Molokai leaving only Mokulele Airlines. The new Hawaii Community Advisory Board has leaders from Lanai and Molokai.
Valerie Janikowski, program administrator of Lānaʻi Kina’ole, says serving on the advisory board is an opportunity for the airline to hear from the rural community about first-hand experiences.
“It’s not just difficulties scheduling a flight, but delays in flights. It’s also getting on to the airplane,” said Valerie Janikowski, advisory board member and program administrator of Lanai Kinaole.
“Especially elderly, there are balance challenges, going up the stairs and then you have to bend to get into the seats. It’s been a barrier for people,” she added.
Alaska Airlines issued a statement on the issue:
“Despite our inability to serve Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi currently due to runway limitations, we wanted to ensure that the voices of these two island communities are represented on this community advisory board. Our expanded presence here in the islands drives our commitment to collaborate with Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi residents to address their air travel challenges.”
Alaska Airline’s Hawaii Community Advisory Board will have its first meeting next month.
The airline says the merger process, including federal approvals and union agreements, could take two and a half years.
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