Hawaii

Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed – View from the Wing

Published

10 months ago

August 19, 2024

Press Room

Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed

by Gary Leff on August 19, 2024

Unless there’s another extension, we’ll learn today whether the Department of Justice signs off on an Alaska Airlines – Hawaiian Airlines merger, or files suit against it. The parties have been negotiating feverishly over conditions that Alaska would agree to in order to avoid government opposition. And there’s some suggestion now about what concessions may be demanded.

The Biden administration has opposed most business combinations. They’ve had mixed success at best – except in the airline industry. They won verdicts against the JetBlue partnership with American Airlines and against JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit, leaving the New York market less competitive and ultra-low cost carrier Spirit Airlines on the brink of collapse.

The deal doesn’t create monopoly or consolidation on inter-island flights within Hawaii, though many observers expect Alaska to reduce seat capacity on these frequently money-losing routes (though Hawaiian outperforms Southwest flying between the islands). These are brutal routes with low fares, and Alaska might offer fewer seats on regional jets which could lower costs and boost fares.
It would create some consolidation between the mainland and Hawaii, but these are highly competitive routes. United, American and Delta all are big players here as well.
There’s been no clamoring of opposition to the deal. Hawaiian politicians have been supportive. Unions haven’t been outraged.

All this suggests that a deal should be possible, notwithstanding that the Biden administration has opposed most forms of consolidation and cooperation (successfully in the airline industry, less so outside of it).

While it’s unclear what a deal could look like that allows Alaska Airlines to move forward with its acquisition of Hawaiian without DOJ opposition, I suggested two possibilities directly related to the acquisition.

Route guarantees. Alaska could agree to maintain existing flying between the islands for a certain period of time, or not to drop capacity for a period of time where Hawaiian and Alaska currently compete.
Gate space in Honolulu. They could be forced to give up some of their prime real estate to foster competition.

And I offered two potential, unrelated remedies that DOJ could seek.

Gates and slots at other congested airports. There’s no reason that remediation has to come in the form of routes or assets directly implicated by the merger. When US Airways wanted approval of its deal to acquire American one of the things it gave up was gate space at Dallas Love Field (ironically to Virgin America, since acquired by Alaska, though partially now utilized by Delta rather than a small low cost airline).
Alaska’s assets in this regard are limited – beyond-perimeter slots at Washington’s National airport, some slots at New York JFK, but they could be asked to give up prime real estate in Seattle or San Francisco (for instance).
The West Coast Alliance Alaska partners with American Airlines, DOJ could be asking Alaska to choose – Hawaiian or American. Dropping American Airlines codesharing wouldn’t be especially impactful to passengers. While status members would miss reciprocal upgrades, as long as Alaska remains in oneworld most of the benefits for customers would remain. And American hasn’t really taken advantage of the partnership – they haven’t built up the Pacific hub in Seattle they had planned.

Beat of Hawaii suggests that the two items under discussion are, in fact, the two directly-related items that I offered.

DOJ might impose conditions on the merger, such as a commitment to maintain current seat capacities and flight frequencies on interisland routes for a certain period, possibly for up to a decade. This would ensure that Alaska Airlines does not reduce service levels, which could lead to increased pricing and diminished accessibility for Hawaii’s residents.
…DOJ could require Alaska to relinquish some of its control over key airports like Honolulu (HNL) and Seattle (SEA) to prevent anti-competitive behavior. To us, that appears a less likely concern than the interisland issue.

Hawaiian shareholders are on edge – the deal gets them a huge premium, and share price will likely drop markedly if DOJ files suit. The airline is on shakier ground than the largest carriers.

Alaska is overpaying for relatively limited assets, but gains widebodies and some experience in transpacific flying.

HawaiianMiles members will see their miles become much more valuable, assuming an almost inevitable 1:1 conversion into Alaska’s Mileage Plan. But there might be some needed consolidation along the way, as well as presaging Alaska’s expansion into long haul, as long as DOJ doesn’t kill this like they killed competition in the Northeast and the ultra-low cost carrier market.

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Hawaii

Plan to cut Hawaii transportation emissions takes shape amid cost concerns | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Press Room

Plan to cut Hawaii transportation emissions takes shape amid cost concerns | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

The Hawaii Department of Transportation has a draft plan to largely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from ground, air and ocean transportation vehicles in the state by 2045.

HDOT Director Ed Sniffen shared highlights of the draft with a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday, drawing praise
and encouragement mixed with concerns over cost.

Implementing the plan will involve a big expense, which has yet to be estimated but is expected to add to what residents pay for fuel, groceries, airfare and other things.

Producing the plan by June 20 was required as part of a June 2024 settlement of a climate impact lawsuit filed against the state in 2022 by about a dozen Hawaii youth.

Isaac Moriwake, a local
attorney with the environmental law firm Earthjustice involved in the litigation, also participated in Wednesday’s presentation and called the settlement a “path-breaking” agreement to address the biggest sector in Hawaii’s economy adding climate-changing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

As part of the settlement, there will be court oversight and collaboration with a 20-member local youth
transportation council that includes five plaintiffs to help ensure HDOT reaches a target set by the Legislature in 2018 to achieve net-negative greenhouse gas emissions in Hawaii’s transportation system by 2045.

The lawsuit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation, was filed over concerns that HDOT wasn’t adequately working to meet the 2045 goal, and argued that things including floods and drought exacerbated by climate change were violating rights in Hawaii’s Constitution to a life-sustaining climate system.

According to the legal complaint, which also involved the Oregon-based nonprofit Our Children’s Trust, children born in 2020 are projected to experience a dramatic rise in extreme climate events like heat waves, wildfires, crop failures, droughts and floods compared with those born in 1960.

A few members of the new council, including Mia Nishiguchi, a rising senior at Kalani High School who chairs the council, also participated in Wednesday’s presentation to House and Senate members.

“They are a big part of how we move forward in all of these (plan) pieces,” Sniffen said.

The biggest and costliest piece of the plan is establishing clean fuel requirements for all types of transportation vehicles,
including cars, passenger jets and cargo ships.

Other plan elements highlighted by Sniffen included expanding pedestrian and bicycle path networks, building more public electric vehicle fast-charging stations, planting thousands of native trees and developing an analytical tool to measure greenhouse gas
impacts on all HDOT
projects.

Sniffen said $40 million to $50 million annually is to be put toward expanding pedestrian and bicycle path networks over the next five years, and that this represents a compression of what previously would have been done over 15 years.

“This connectivity is going to help us reduce our emissions and get people out on the road other than in their cars,” Sniffen said.

“It’s definitely an ambitious target, and we really appreciate HDOT stepping up on that,” Moriwake added.

The EV charging piece of the plan involves spending $40 million over the next five years to add more than a dozen new fast chargers, each featuring four charge ports at ideal locations around the state, including airports.

Sniffen said two such stations were added last year at Aloha Tower Marketplace and a Kahului park-and-ride lot using $2.5 million in
annual funding from the
federal government, though each station costs $1.5 million to $2 million. This year, six new stations are planned on the neighbor islands.

Plants, which sequester carbon dioxide that represents the biggest component of greenhouse gases, are also part of HDOT’s plan.

Kawika Pegram, a youth council member from Waipahu, told the legislative panel that HDOT already had a minimum commitment to plant 1,000 native trees annually but planted roughly 3,000 in 2024 and so far this year is up to about 4,200.

“So year over year you’re seeing that the DOT is surpassing their minimum expectations several times over,” Pegram said.

The agency has created a website to show what it has planted and where. The site, at 808ne.ws/4eunHeQ, indicates that the agency’s count includes shrubs and groundcover plants in addition to trees that HDOT either planted or supported planting.

Another element in the plan is to estimate greenhouse gas emissions for
every HDOT ground transportation project, including road widening and repair.

“No other state is doing this,” Sniffen said.

The single biggest greenhouse gas emissions change under HDOT’s plan is to come from imposing a clean fuels standard for air, ocean and ground transportation vehicles.

Such fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel for planes, liquefied natural gas for ships and lower-carbon fuels for vehicles on Hawaii roads will result in higher costs for industries and consumers, according to Sniffen, which elicited concerns from some lawmakers.

“I’m all for the decarbonization of Hawaii, but … you are asking folks to move towards a green infrastructure who don’t have green,” said Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili), referring to the color of paper money.

“I live in one of the most transportation-impacted areas in the state where work is not where we live, and everything is exacerbated based off of cost, and that’s just rural Oahu. I don’t even want to talk about neighbor island costs,” continued Kila, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. “I know what we’re trying to accomplish, but … you’re asking folks to almost bend to a capacity that they don’t have.”

HDOT intends to seek legislation to provide tax credits for airlines and ocean transportation firms to meet future Hawaii clean fuel standards while other potential incentives are envisioned for drivers throughout the state.

Sniffen said he expects transportation industry representatives to work with HDOT on figuring out how to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, which under the agency’s plan also includes limiting the cruise ship industry locally and powering ships in port using shoreside power.

“None of the industries are pushing back and saying this is not important,” he said. “They are just saying we got to see how we do this so we can afford it.”

HDOT anticipates finishing an analysis that estimates a cost to reach the 2045 goal and expects to have a figure by January.

Sen. Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe-Laie-Mokuleia) asked Sniffen whether the 2045 deadline could be pushed back depending on what the estimated cost ends up being.

Sniffen said that may be possible and noted that the airline industry has estimated that it will cost $1 billion more to meet the 2045 target compared with their own goal of 2050.

Sniffen also noted that HDOT’s plan is being produced to meet a target established by the Legislature.

“I’m not asking anybody to do this,” he said. “I’m following the law right now, and I’m showing what it takes to get to that 2045 goal.”

Sen. Chris Lee (D, Kailua-Waimanalo-Hawaii Kai) also expressed concerns over Hawaii’s already high cost of living. But the chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts suggested that a long-term cost savings may result if reaching the state’s 2045 goal is done right.

HDOT plans to publish its draft plan Friday, host three public videoconference presentations and accept public comments through July 27.
A final plan is scheduled for completion by Aug. 27.

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Hawaii

Ashley Dyer Joins Hawaii Swimming & Diving Staff As Assistant Coach

Published

19 hours ago

June 25, 2025

Press Room

Ashley Dyer Joins Hawaii Swimming & Diving Staff As Assistant Coach

The University of Hawaii has announced the addition of Ashley Dyer to its men’s and women’s swimming and diving coaching staff. Dyer will serve as an assistant coach under head coach Steve Allnutt.

“Our program is honored to bring Coach Ashley Dyer to the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex,” Allnutt said in the university’s press release. “She will assist our team while pursuing her graduate studies in Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences at UH-Manoa. Though Ashley just finished her competitive career last season, she has already put together varied and extensive coaching experience at the club and college level, in addition to working across the country at various elite swim camps. Her initiative and drive for excellence will make an immediate impact on our student-athletes.”

Dyer competed for four years at the University of Mary Washington, serving as team captain during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons. At the 2022 Metropolitan Conference Championships, she won the 1650 freestyle and earned second-place finishes in both the 200 and 500 free. Her performance earned her high-point swimmer honors at the meet.

In 2024, she graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in sports management, then completed her master’s in business administration.

Her coaching journey began in 2021 as an assistant with the Stingrays USA Swim Team, where she was instrumental in the team’s progression and played a part in earning USA Swimming’s Bronze Medal Club status in 2024. She also gained experience as an intern with Mary Washington’s varsity swim program, and contributed to NCAA Division I summer camps at top programs, including the University of Virginia, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas.

In 2022, she took over as head coach of the Woodlake Hurricanes, the summer league team she once competed for. Dyer had been a member of the Hurricanes from 2011 to 2021 and also swam for Clover Hill High School from 2017 to 2021.

Dyer joins a staff that includes diving coach Brandon Blaisdell and assistant coaches Chris Grimmett-Norris, Lauren Sale, Tim Gallagher, and Christel Simms.

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Hawaii

Johnston County family stuck in Hawaii following father’s health scare

Published

1 day ago

June 24, 2025

Press Room

Johnston County family stuck in Hawaii following father’s health scare

A Johnston County family’s dream vacation to Hawaii quickly turned into a nightmare when Ellen Ellis Smith’s husband contracted a severe fungal infection, leaving him in a coma and on life support.

Reporter : Chris Lovingood
Web Editor : Sydney Ross

Posted 2025-06-24T19:01:29-0400 – Updated 2025-06-24T19:01:29-0400

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