HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – One of the nation’s largest airlines is raising concerns to the federal government about the planned merger between Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines.

It’s a setback in the nearly nine-month process that seemed close to being finalized. Some experts say it will likely only delay the $1.9 billion deal.

United Airlines does a lot of business in Hawaii, devoting some of its fleet’s largest and most expensive planes to the islands. It’s concerned about what a merger will mean about its existing agreements with Hawaiian Airlines.

According to United, its costumers can gain reward miles even when they fly inter-island on Hawaiian.

Its website also sells flights to and from the continental U.S. that use connecting flights “Operated by Hawaiian Airlines.”

“What it means is that their airline can sell some tickets on that airplane, and both companies make some profit on that arrangement,” said Hawaii Aviation Expert Peter Forman.

“It is a lucrative type of agreement between airlines.”

A letter from United to the DOT expressed concerns about the impact of the merger on these existing agreements.

Patrick McNamee, who flew for United and Continental for 37 years, said the concerns about business impact make sense given that the airline has a long history operating in the state.

“I started working for them back in 1987 here in Hawaii. The biggest carriers were United, Northwest and Continental,” said McNamee.

McNamee believes that other airlines operating in Hawaii will also write letters of concern.

“United shot the first bullet across the bow. Trust me, Southwest is going to be there by tomorrow,” added McNamee.

The merger has strong support from state officials, including Hawaii’s Gov., Attorney General, and lieutenant governor.

The governor wrote to the DOT saying in part,

“By the joining of these two airlines, a stronger company will emerge with Hawaiian Airlines costumers benefiting from being a part of a larger carrier with more resources, increased options for residents, and enhanced competition.”

The governor noted that even with a merger, Alaska and Hawaiian would still be “a distant 5th in size” among airlines.

Forman believes the merger will still be approved, but it will likely be delayed as the DOT works to address concerns.

“It’s not a showstopper at all because worse case situation, the DOT says Hawaiian you got to keep these agreements open to United,” said Forman.

That’s in part because the proposed merger cleared a major hurdle when the Department of Justice issued no objections to it.

There is no timeline for when the DOT will be done with its final review.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The passenger of an ATV died in a crash Friday in Big Lake.

Alaska State Troopers in Palmer got a report of a fatal, ATV rollover crash in Big Lake at about 9:10 p.m. The driver of the ATV told Troopers that he and the passenger were driving and “decided to have some fun,” and tried to drift. The ATV rolled onto the passenger in a sharp turn. EMS tried saving the passenger’s life, who was declared dead at 9:27 p.m.

There are no criminal elements to the crash, no signs of impairment from the driver or passenger and no one was wearing a helmet, AST said. Next of kin was on scene.

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.

United complains to the feds about the Alaska/Hawaiian merger, Hyatt buys another boutique brand and the easiest business class flights to actually book. All that and more in this week’s Saturday Selection, our weekly round-up of interesting tidbits from around the interwebs (links to the original articles are embedded in the titles).

United complains to DOT about Alaska/Hawaiian merger

It’s time for this week’s thrilling episode of “As the Merger Turns.” First of all, a quick recap for those folks who haven’t been on pins and needles while following the latest action of the Alaska/Hawaiian merger. Alaska Airlines surprised nearly everyone last year when it announced that it was grossly overpaying for its “off-the-mainland” compatriot, Hawaiian Airlines. While it was a arguably questionable deal for Alaska shareholders, it was very exciting for most of us points and milers. Hawaiian brings a Pacific-Oceania route map and some fresh, widebody 787s that have never before darkened an Alaska hangar, while at the same point providing some potentially exciting ways to load up on roundabout Alaska miles. The DOJ, who hasn’t been a fan of domestic airline mergers over the last few years, spent several months reviewing the transaction, asked for two extensions before finally letting the review period expire without objection. That usually means smooth sailing, so points and miles folks started flocking like Emperor Penguins towards previously ugly ducklings like the Hawaiian credit cards and a transfer bonus from American Express to HawaiianMiles. But, not so fast, my friends. That champion of domestic airline competition and pedigreed consumer advocate, United Airlines, has filed a complaint saying that the merger would violate its own codeshare agreements with Hawaiian, leading to over-consolidation and a negative impact on consumers…an interesting argument from an airline that has an almost 80% market share in Houston International and a 65%+ market share at Newark and Dulles Airports.

So is the merger on or off? Who can say. But, like the Beatles famously sang, “I don’t know why you say aloha when I say aloha.” Or is it the other way around?

The easiest business class flights to book with points

Who doesn’t like international business class? Getting to fly across an ocean or continent in your own bougie little cubby with a seat that doubles as a lie-flat bed is one of the great, obtainable luxuries in modern travel…something that us funny-money hoarders sometimes don’t fully appreciate. That said, it isn’t always easy to find and book space on these pleasure cruises, and seats during school breaks can be like finding cigarettes in prison. Last week, Thrifty Traveler compiled a list of what they consider to be the six easiest business class products to actually seal the deal with when using points and miles (trigger warning – it’s also a bit of an advert for their premium service). Some folks on the East Coast might quibble with the Japan Airlines inclusion, but it’s nonetheless a good rundown on products that tend to have more availability than many others and are worth considering when you’re trying to find a bed in the sky.

Hyatt acquires a small, boutique brand again for the very first time

Hyatt’s been on a bit of an acquisition bender of late. In the last year or so, World of Hyatt has picked-up the boutiqu-y marketing consortium Mr & Mrs Smith (MMS), Germany’s me and all Hotels, and the high-end “glampground” company, Under Canvas. Now, Hyatt is diving even further into the depths of chic, hipster lodging by purchasing the international chain Standard Hotels. Standard is a far-flung company, to say the least. It only has 24 properties, but they’re scattered to the winds, with locations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, China, The Maldives, Ibiza, London, Mexico and the US. Hyatt describes Standard as being part of an eventual “lifestyle” division that includes other “lifestyle brands” like Andaz, Dream, Thompson, and Hyatt Centric. One wonders how many “lifestyle” brands a company needs to feel well-centered…or even what a “lifestyle brand” is. Regardless, ever since the addition of Mr & Mrs Smith, we hold our breath a little when we see a new Hyatt purchase, waiting to see if these will be a part of the company’s very good-value award chart or the poor-value, dynamically-priced awards that MMS subjects us to (and that’s also shared by Under Canvas). We reached out to Hyatt to see what the pricing would look like on these properties and are still listening to the crickets in the backyard. Hopefully, that’s not an omen of dynamic pricing to come.

Points, miles, FOMO and lifestyle inflation

For points and miles collectors (and spenders), it’s easy for our eyes to be bigger than our stomachs. Ideally, this “hobby” that we’re all involved in is something fun and rewarding, adding rich experience to our families and lives. But, it can be a compulsion as well. The combination of social media and fear of missing out (FOMO) can quickly draw people into spending more time, money and effort than they intend to in pursuit of “maximizing” all those rewards floating around out there. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about how points and miles should serve our lives and the way we travel, not the other way around. Last week, Leana over at Miles for Family wrote an interesting post in a similar-ish vein about her “…struggle to not let miles and points derail our financial future.” She paints the picture of someone who gets in the “game” looking for points to help take a family vacation to Florida and ends up manufacturing spend in pursuit of vacations to the Maldives and first class flights…that they may never take. It’s a worthwhile weekend read and something to consider for anyone who reads points and miles blogs on the weekend, like me.

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