AAG Refines Its Hawai’i-West Coast Strategy

While the focus this week has been on Hawaiian Air’s all-new international service out of Alaska Air’s primary hub in Seattle, there are a lot of changes occurring in Hawai’i as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy, too. These changes come hot on the heels of the first round of route optimization work announced recently. 

Alaska Air Group’s network planners have been BUSY. Nearly a month ago, AAG announced the first visible changes of its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, as schedules and aircraft types were adjusted on certain routes between Hawai’i and the West Coast. Then, of course, came the announcement of Hawaiian Airlines flights between Seattle and both Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea, plus at least 10 other new international routes in the coming years. 

Well, that wasn’t all that was announced at the time. More domestic changes are coming as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy. Ironically, that includes changes to the aforementioned flights, along with flying places we haven’t seen Hawaiian go in decades. 

AAG Refines Its Hawai’i-West Coast Strategy

To kick-off our discussion on how AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy, let’s revisit its most recent change: Honolulu-Seattle. In the previous post, I outlined how AAG would eliminate one Alaska Air-operated flight on the route, and add a Hawaiian Air-operated flight using an Airbus A330-200. Well, that’s still happening. But, now, AAG is adding a THIRD Hawaiian-operated frequency, also utilizing an A330. 

This new schedule commences is as follows:

HNL-SEA

• HA22 departing at 1:10 pm HST and arriving at 10:00 pm PT
• HA634 departing at 9:30 pm HST and arriving at 6:15 am PT
• HA28 departing at 11:55 pm HST and arriving at 8:40 am PT

SEA-HNL

• HA21 departing at 8:15 am PT and arriving at 11:15 am HST
• HA27 departing at 11:25 am PT and arriving at 2:15 pm HST
• HA633 departing at 3:55 pm PT and arriving at 6:50 pm HST

That’s right, there will soon be TWO eastbound redeye flights. This makes sense to me, as Hawaiian’s A330s have lie-flat seats, whereas Alaska Air’s Boeing 737s don’t. 

Also, frequent Hawaiian fliers will likely recognize HA27/28 at Hawaiian’s seasons second daily frequency between Honolulu and Seattle. But, looking at the available schedule for 2025, this flight gets added in April and remains throughout the rest of the schedule.

Honolulu-Portland

At present, the combined Alaska Air Group operates two daily flights between Honolulu and Portland, Oregon. Those include:

• HA52 HNL-PDX departing at 11:35 am HST and arriving at 8:05 pm PT 
• AS834 HNL-PDX departing at 10:19 pm HST and arriving at 7:08 am PT 
• HA49 PDX-HNL departing at 10:50 am PT and arriving at 1:40 pm HST
• AS889 PDX-HNL departing at 6:10 pm PT and arriving at 8:33 pm HST

The above flights are operated by an Airbus A330 and a Boeing 737-900/MAX9, respectively. However, sometime in July, as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy, a third flight is being added to the mix, and the schedule is being shifted a bit:

• HNL-PDX
  • HA26 departing at 8:10 am HST and arriving at 4:40 pm PT
  • HA52 departing at 1:40 pm HST and arriving at 10:10 pm PT
  • HA684 departing at 10:00 pm HST and arriving at 6:30 am PT
• PDX-HNL
  • HA49 departing at 7:00 am PT and arriving at 9:50 am HST
  • HA683 departing at 10:25 am PT and arriving at 1:15 pm HST
  • HA25 departing at 5:50 pm PT and arriving at 8:50 pm HST

As you can see, this has shifted entirely to Hawaiian Airlines ops. Not only that, but the A330s are being pulled for the route, with all flights being operated by Airbus A321neos. 

Kahului-Portland

As you can see, Portland is getting a lot of love as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy, and this is indicative of a larger, long-term strategy at AAG. But, more on that later. For now, it’s worth noting that Portland is receiving a third daily frequency, though this one will remain a mix of Hawaiian and Alaska flying:

• AS898 departing at 11:40 am HST and arriving at 8:02 pm PT
• HA40 departing at 12:45 pm HST and arriving at 9:10 pm PT
• AS558 departing at 9:40 pm HST and arriving at 6:00 am PT
• AS890 departing at 7:45 am PT and arriving at 10:40 am HST
• HA39 departing at 9:30 am PT and arriving at 12:35 pm HST
• AS559 departing at 5:45 pm PT and arriving at 8:36 pm HST

The bolded flights are those that are new to the schedule, with Alaska Air flights continuing to be operated by the Boeing 737, while Hawaiian flights will be operated by the Airbus A321neo. 

San Francisco

Not to keep all of the fun in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California is getting some love, too, as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy. This takes the form of an a change in operations Honolulu and new flights to Kaua’i and Maui. These changes are as follows:

• HNL-SFO
  • AS876/852 is being replaced by a Hawaiian-operated flight
  • HA624 will depart HNL at 9:20 pm HST and will arrive in SFO at 5:30 am PT
  • HA623 will depart SFO at 7:45 pm PT and arrive in HNL at 10:15 pm HST
  • Unfortunately, this redeye flight will be operated by an A321neo, while the existing HA11/12 daytime flights keep the A330
• KOA-SFO
  • All-new KOA-SFO flight will operate four times a week on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, starting on June 12, 2025
  • AS788 KOA-SFO departing at 12:00 pm HST and arriving at 7:52 pm PT
  • AS789 SFO-KOA departing at 8:30 am PT and arriving at 10:51 am HST
• LIH-SFO
  • All-new LIH-SFO flight will operate three times a week ever Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting on June 13, 2025
  • AS791 LIH-SFO departing at 12:05 pm HST and arriving at 8:06 pm PT
  • AS790 SFO-LIH departing at 8:30 am PT and arriving at 11:03 am HST

Other Changes

As far as I can tell, details for other announced changes aren’t available yet, but as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy, we’ll see Alaska Air’s Honoulu-Anchorage service swapped for A330 flights operated by Hawaiian during the busy summer season. Hawaiian hasn’t flown Honolulu-Anchorage since they flew Lockheed L1011s! But, that’s not all, an A330 will eventually appear on Seattle-Anchorage flights, too. 

AAG Refines Its Hawai’i-West Coast Strategy, Final Thoughts

I know this was always going to happen, but is disappointing to see existing Hawaiian routes being downgauged either from a Hawaiian A330 to A321neo, or to an Alaska Air Boeing 737. However, it’s a sign of more of what’s to come as AAG refines its Hawai’i-West Coast strategy. Moreover, we also know that, eventually, regardless of aircraft type, virtually all of these flights will be flown by “Hawaiian.” 

I just wish Hawaiian could keep some of its 787s. After all, they have options for eight more, and I’m sure Boeing would cut Alaska a great deal if they wanted even more.