Alaska Airlines and its subsidiary Hawaiian Airlines have secured a combined air operator's certificate (AOC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the companies said on Wednesday (October 29).
The two companies will continue to operate as two separate brands, following Alaska's completion of the acquisition in September last year.
“This was a year-long, multi-phase effort involving multiple departments and thousands of hours work,” said Ben Minicucci, president and CEO of Alaska Air Group.
The announcement follows reports that Hawaiian's ‘HA’ code is to be retired and replaced with the ‘AS’ code.
“While Hawaiian Airlines flights will show the HA designator, new flight numbers may be assigned to avoid duplication between our brands,” the group said.
“Where practical, we attempted to maintain similar flight numbers, but in many cases, we had to assign completely new flight numbers.”
Minicucci said the combined AOC is an “important step” in the combined organisation's strategy, paving the way for “ongoing integration initiatives”.
These include combined scheduling and passenger service systems, as well as integrating its flight crew, airport, and maintenance teams under joint collective bargaining agreements.
“Next spring, guests can look forward to an even more streamlined travel experience when Alaska and Hawaiian move to a single passenger service system,” the group said.
Once the group transitions to a single passenger service system in April, all flights will carry the AS code.
The group had also recently revealed its combined loyalty programme, Atmos Rewards.
With the single AOC secured, several leadership positions at Hawaiian now formally take effect.
Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaksa's EVP of public affairs and sustainability, has transitioned to CEO of Hawaiian, succeeding Joe Sprague, who is retiring after a “distinguished career” at Alaska Air Group.
Jim Landers, Hawaiian SVP for technical operations, now assumes the role of head of Hawaii's operations, while Shelly Parker, VP of station operations and inflight at Horizon Air — Alaska's regional subsidiary — is now head of Hawaii's guest operations.