Call it a quirk of a growing airline with international ambitions.
Passengers boarding an Alaska Airlines 787 in Seattle, bound for Europe, are sometimes greeted with an “aloha!” from the flight deck.
The reason? After acquiring Hawaiian Airlines in 2024, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines reassigned Hawaiian’s wide-body 787s – which originally served island routes – to carry passengers long-distance from Seattle to destinations across Europe and Asia.
Because the flight crews certified to fly those 787s came over from Hawaiian Airlines, the greeting habit stuck.
Hawaiian flight crews, once used to flying passengers from all over the world to Hawaii, are now flying from Seattle to Europe and Asia.
That’s not to say Hawaiian Airlines is backing away from Australia. It flies between five and seven non-stop flights a week between Honolulu and Sydney, using A330s.
“We do see pretty solid connecting traffic through Honolulu to North America,” said Hawaiian Airlines chief executive Diana Birkett Rakow. She says Australians choosing to fly to Europe via Hawaii are making a “really interesting value proposition”.
“If you are in Hawaii, for example, flying through Seattle to connect to Europe is by far the most direct route to go,” she said. “If we flew in non-stop, you’d essentially go over Seattle.”
It’s a more geographically direct route than Los Angeles or San Francisco simply because the route is farther north, she said.
“So I think that’s a cool option for folks from Australia that want to go that route or also want to take a stop-over in Hawaii,” Rakow said.
According to Hawaiian Airlines, as many as 60 per cent of Australians travelling to North America make a stop-over seasonally.
The prospect of reaching Europe from the US – either via Hawaii or Seattle – is not just a roundabout way to avoid the Middle East.
Alaska Airlines is now flying to Asia and Europe from its hub in Seattle as part of the race to be the next major American carrier. They will sit alongside Delta, United, American and Southwest. For Alaska Airlines that means expanding from a major regional hub to being a national, and now international, competitor.
When Alaska bought Hawaiian in 2024, it announced a three-year surge designed to add $1 billion in profit to the company in a program called “Accelerate”.
Like so many other ambitious expansions in the aviation sector, “Accelerate” ran headlong into a surge in costs driven by higher fuel prices, the result of open-ended conflict in the Middle East. The airline’s fuel bills are up 85 per cent year-on-year. Yet despite the jump in operating costs being passed along to consumers, demand for travel remains strong.
Like other airlines with global aspirations, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are now leaning heavily into the premium economy space. They are introducing a new premium travel brand called Aurora, inspired by its roots across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, with refreshed cabins, better lounges and a higher quality of food.
“Our guests have told us that premium matters,” Alaska Airlines chief executive Ben Minicucci told an audience of journalists and investors. “They want the same elevated experience whether they’re crossing the Pacific, the Atlantic or crossing the country.”
At the same time, Hawaiian Airlines will roll out a premium brand experience called Lei Hoku, meaning “garland of stars” in Hawaiian. The plan will mean Hawaiian Airlines’ 24-plane-strong A330 fleet will be given 22 lie-flat suites on international business class and domestic first class flights.
For Australians flying across the Pacific, Hawaii’s A330 fleet is already fully wired with ultra-fast Starlink – satellite-based internet Wi-Fi. “We are all-in on Starlink – for free, for everybody,” said Alaska Airlines chief financial officer Shane Tackett. “It’s an amazing experience.”
Rakow said business travellers “want full connectivity, especially for a longer flight”. Qantas offers Viasat internet connection for passengers, in a rollout that is still not complete.
Asked if there was a concern about Elon Musk’s Starlink acquiring too much power over the aviation sector, Rakow said the airline was focused on making sure it delivered what passengers want.
“The way that business and technology works is that somebody’s going to come up with a competitor to Starlink or maybe even something better, who knows?”
After the cabin upgrades are complete, the full cabin will have about 40 per cent premium seating, up from 30 per cent today. Passengers will also have dedicated check-in desks and an airy new Hawaiian Lounge in Honolulu, as well as a chef-designed menu and better amenities.
The bad news for Hawaiian Airlines: the upgrade won’t happen until 2028.
Qantas flies almost the same route from Honolulu to Sydney. While Hawaiian Airlines, which just joined the Oneworld alliance, costs more in points to book, it has cheaper fees and taxes.
“Not all Qantas frequent flyers know that you can use Qantas points on a wide range of other partner airlines, which includes Hawaiian Airlines,” Brandon Loo, editor-in-chief of Point Hacks, told this masthead. “On the Sydney-Honolulu route, Hawaiian Airlines charges $161 in fees and taxes for a business class reward, whereas Qantas charges $777.
“Even though Hawaiian Airlines business class costs 9600 Qantas points more than flying Qantas itself, members can save over $600 per person.”
The reporter travelled to the US as a guest of Alaska Airlines.
Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.
Chris Zappone is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X, Facebook or email.From our partners
About the Author
