United Airlines Says It’s ‘Concerned’ About the Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines Merger

Just as we thought it was progressing smoothly (almost too smoothly), the proposed merger between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines is facing a potential bump in the road.

After clearing a waiting period for antitrust concerns and a lawsuit to block the merger being thrown out, the 2 airlines thought everything was on track.

Now, though, United Airlines has expressed concerns to the Department of Transportation regarding the impacts of this merger on its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines.

What does this mean, and what do travelers need to know? Here’s what we know and don’t know at this point.

How United Airlines Is Related to the Hawaiian/Alaska Merger

United Airlines apparently has “concerns” about the impending merger between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. The concerns appear focused entirely on how this will affect United Airlines — not customers or the future of flying to Hawaii.

You can view the full memorandum here, but since it’s so short, we’ll include the entirety of this ultra-brief memo:

On August 27, 2024, Robert Rivkin, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of United Airlines (United), spoke with Deputy General Counsel Brian Stansbury. Mr. Rivkin expressed concerns regarding the potential impact of a merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines on the cooperation agreements between United and Hawaiian Airlines. He noted that United has interline, codeshare, special prorate, and loyalty agreements with Hawaiian Airlines.

Full text of the U.S. Department of Transportation Memorandum

For those unaware, United Airlines has a partnership with Hawaiian Airlines. Under this partnership, you can earn United miles on paid Hawaiian Airlines flights booked through United booking channels, though this is limited to codeshare interisland flights booked in connection with United flights. You can’t buy a standalone interisland Hawaiian Airlines flight from United’s website.

It’s also possible to redeem United miles on these flights.

But the partnership goes further, letting you redeem United miles for standalone Hawaiian Airlines flights.

As you can see, there’s a pretty deep relationship between United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. How will that be impacted by Hawaiian merging with Alaska Airlines, a Oneworld carrier, while United is a founding member of Star Alliance? Enter the “concerns.”

What We Know and Don’t Know

United Airlines seems to have questions about whether its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines would survive the latter being absorbed into Alaska Airlines, which sits in a rival alliance. Sure, Alaska Airlines already partners with Singapore Airlines, a Star Alliance member, but that was formed before Alaska joined Oneworld in 2021.

Creating a new partnership might be more difficult — or seem less appropriate. If the deal falls apart, United Airlines could lose customers and revenue from the end of its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines.

To be fair, there’s another airline that might love to see this partnership end. Southwest Airlines has put in considerable effort to grow its interisland flight network in Hawaii. Would it love for United to look around the room for a new partner on these flights? Probably.

How will the DOT treat these concerns? No one knows. Will Alaska and Hawaiian make some concessions in hopes that United will not stand in the way of the merger? We don’t know that either.

Right now, all we know is that United has “concerns.” Beyond that, there’s no formal legal intervention or anyone making additional moves. We’ll have to wait and see what comes next.

Final Thoughts

In a conversation with the Department of Transportation, United Airlines expressed worries about the potential merger between Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines. United could lose a valuable partner, and we’ll have to wait to see what comes of this conversation.