Hawaiian Airlines announces $600M investment plan

Hawaiian Airlines is starting the new year with a new $600 million investment plan.

Airline leaders and state officials — including Gov. Josh Green and state Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen — announced the Kahu‘ewai Hawai‘i Investment Plan during a press conference Monday at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.

Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow told the crowd gathered in Terminal 1 that the plan includes investments of more than $600 million over the next five years “to modernize airport spaces, aircraft cabins and technology for both guests and employees, expanding loyalty benefits for Hawai‘i residents and continuing our deep investment in community and sustainability statewide.”

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve gotten a ton of really good feedback from guests, from community members, from employees and the plan that I’m describing has been built with all of their input, to touch every part of the guest experience and operation in the Islands, to support infrastructure, jobs, responsible tourism, and to deepen our support for communities and sustainability,” she continued. “The plan lays a foundation that we will continue to build on for years to come.”

Here’s what the plan has in store:

A new lounge. At the entrance of the Honolulu airport’s Mauka Concourse in Terminal 1, Hawaiian will build a 10,600-square-foot premium lounge. Birkett Rakow says the airline is “well into design” and the space is expected to open at the end of next year. The airline will operate the new lounge in addition to the Plumeria Lounge and its six premier clubs across the state, and Alaska Airlines lounges on the Mainland, she noted.
More renovations. Additionally, this year and through 2029, Hawaiian also will do a full renovation of lobbies and gate areas “across every island and airport we serve in Hawai‘i, while also improving employee spaces,” Birkett Rakow says.

“These projects will improve the experience with well-lit open spaces as well as better seating and amenities like power charging in the seats,” she continued. “Our goal is for local travelers to enjoy beautiful facilities that match the level of service they’ve come to expect when flying with us and that reflect a sense of place while providing visitors a wonderful first impression when they first step off the plane.”

Technology updates. This spring, Hawaiian Airlines will launch a new, updated app and website that Birkett Rakow says is “designed to give guests significantly more flexibility and control when planning their travel, including easier trip management, same-day changes, award redemption with global partners and seat upgrades. And with integration of the passenger service systems in April … you’ll be able to manage travel much more seamlessly across our entire network.” At the end of April, Hawaiian Airlines also will join oneworld Alliance, which will offer local travelers more loyalty benefits and a broader global network.
Expanded loyalty benefits. Later this year, Hawai‘i residents who are members of the Huaka‘i by Hawaiian, a free travel benefit program exclusively for those living in the Islands, will receive a 50% bonus on Atmos Rewards points and status points on Neighbor Island flights in addition to the kama‘āina benefits already available, including a free checked bag, quarterly discounts when flying interisland and monthly systemwide deals.

(ICYMI: Atmos Rewards is a joint loyalty program for both Alaska and Hawaiian. It launched in August).

Plane upgrades. Hawaiian’s Honolulu-based fleet of widebody Airbus A330s will undergo a full interior upgrade — including new seats, carpets, lighting, first class suites and a premium economy cabin — beginning in 2028. The airline also is acquiring three of its A330 aircraft off lease to support the fleet’s future service across the Pacific, but that’s not part of its investment totals.
Continued community investment. Birkett Rakow says the airline will continue to support education and workforce development initiatives, promote regenerative tourism through its Travel Pono program, and invest in sustainability. Those efforts include a new investment in local business accelerator Mana Up and Hawaiian becoming the initial customer for locally produced sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, from Par Hawai‘i and making an investment in Pono Energy “to support local inputs to make SAF here and support local agriculture,” she noted.

Birkett Rakow says a lot of the investments are capital investments that don’t directly impact operating expenses.

“We have a capital plan, over time, that allocates a certain amount of money on an annual basis to invest in the business,” she says. “These are really important investments for us to make. It helps us keep our guest service strong and helps us keep our infrastructure strong, and so we’ve got a very strong balance sheet.”

Green said the state also has an additional $1.2 billion plan “that continues to reinforce all of the investment in the airports.”