Hawaiian Airlines today is introducing a new locals-only program that could reshape the competitive neighbor-island landscape much in the way that Southwest Airlines’ bodacious long-running $39 one-way fares did after the carrier entered Hawaii’s interisland market.
Starting next year, kamaaina can save money on neighbor island airfares through Huaka‘i by Hawaiian, a new permanent travel benefits program for locals launched following Hawaiian Airlines’ combination with Alaska Airlines. The program offers once-a-quarter discounts of 10% for kamaaina and 20% for its Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard members.
Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague said Huaka‘i is patterned after Club 49, a resident-only program that Alaska Airlines designed from scratch and introduced in Alaska in 2011.
“(Club 49) was widely popular right out of the gate because people felt it as a benefit to their wallet, and it’s remained popular ever since,” Sprague said. “The thing that it has done for us, and I hope Huaka‘i by Hawaiian does something similar, it has really further anchored Alaska Airlines to the state of Alaska.”
“Long before the deal (between Alaska and Hawaiian) closed, when we were first starting to think about … if the deal was approved how could we compete more effectively, but most importantly of all, how could we further establish Hawaiian Airlines as the most trusted, most preferred airline in the islands,” Sprague said. “Taking a page out of the Club 49 playbook, we thought that a resident-only program would be an important way to do that.”
In February, Alaska Airlines established the Hawai‘i Community Advisory Board, a group of leaders from across Hawaii, to advise Alaska Airlines on how to serve Hawaii’s communities. Sprague said HICAB provided input into what type of locals-only benefits would resonate with Hawaii residents.
Hawaii residents who have a HawaiianMiles account and a Hawaii mailing address may sign up to become a Huaka‘i by Hawaiian member at HawaiianAirlines.com/Huakai. Huaka‘i members will get an email Dec. 18 and can begin as early as Jan. 8 taking advantage of the program’s first quarterly discount codes for neighbor island travel, which can be used for one-way or round-trip travel in coach or first class.
Starting Jan. 8, kamaaina Huaka‘i members now will get a free checked bag, inclusive of surfboards, golf bags and other sports equipment. Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard card members will still get two free checked bags.
Starting March 1, Hawaiian will begin emailing quarterly neighbor island discount codes on the first day of the month prior to the start of the next quarter. Hawaiian also said Huaka‘i members will receive the first fare discount notifications for travel on Hawaiian’s domestic and global network.
The Huaka‘i program comes just as some locals have noted that fares seem to be rising for travel on high-demand routes like Honolulu to Kahului, and for most neighbor island routes during the holidays. But current fares are lower than the neighbor island fares that Hawaiian Airlines was charging when it was the only Hawaii carrier offering interisland service after go! airlines ceased its Hawaii operations in 2014 and before Southwest Airlines’ entry.
While fares seem to have gone up some from the artificial lows at the height of the Southwest Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines battle, they aren’t at historical highs, and travelers can still find deals. Interisland travelers are still benefiting from the continued competition between Southwest and Hawaiian, and from a drop in demand from the tourism softening that emerged following the devastating Maui wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023, and has continued into next year.
To be sure, Southwest just offered main cabin neighbor island tickets starting at $49 one way for bookings made Nov. 12-14. A 21-day advance purchase was required, and there were restrictions, exclusions and blackouts. For bookings made by Nov. 14, it also offered up to 40% off select flights to and from Hawaii and the mainland.
On Nov. 14, Hawaiian also put out a limited $49 one-way fare on some main cabin flights to the neighbor islands, and for those who wanted to pay with miles, cut the one-way mileage cost to 3,400 miles from 6,375.
But the long-running $39 one-way interisland fare specials are likely gone following discussions about the lack of sustainability for that discounted cost structure. Those fare specials dominated many Hawaiian Airlines earnings reports after Southwest Airlines’ entry into the interisland market in 2019.
Also, leaders at Alaska Air Group, which on Sept. 18 completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings, parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, indicated in its third-quarter financial results, which included the first 13 days of Hawaiian Airlines’ performance on its books, that neighbor island results were showing material year-over-year improvement.
