Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are approaching the next major step in their combination — the rollout of a shared passenger service system on April 22 — but ahead of that milestone, passengers should take note of a few other changes underway now.
Tag your bag
New self-service bag-tag software on kiosks in Hawaiian’s airport lobbies will enable guests to use kiosks to print and attach baggage destination tags, or bag tags, before proceeding to the bag drop areas, a recent blog post from the airline notes. Meanwhile, the airline will shift to mobile and web check-in as the main way for guests to get their boarding passes.
“The upgrade is designed to reduce lobby wait times and congestion, making it easier for all guests to get to their departure gate, as well as reduce waste by discontinuing printed boarding passes,” the post states.
Airline spokesperson Tara Shimooka told Aloha State Daily on Friday that Hawaiian was already making the transition at its Mainland stations, with plans to start at Hawai‘i airports this week and into early April. The kiosks will be solely for printing bag tags, she says.
This move aligns Hawaiian with Alaska’s check-in process.
“Whether you’re flying Alaska or Hawaiian, the check-in process is the same,” says Shimooka. She did, however, add that guests who may not be tech savvy or aren’t ready to make that change, can still check in with an agent to receive their boarding pass.
One app to rule them all
Starting Monday, you’ll find a single unified Alaska Hawaiian mobile app in your app store.
In a blog post on Monday, the airline noted that as part of the transition to a single mobile platform, the current Alaska Airlines app will update automatically for most guests starting Monday, March 30. Meanwhile, the legacy Hawaiian Airlines app will remain available through April 21.
Anyone who’s booked on a Hawaiian Airlines flight through that date should continue to use the legacy Hawaiian mobile app for check-in and day-of travel updates, the airline says.
Shimooka told ASD that the full functionality of the single app won’t kick in for Hawaiian app users until the PSS rolls out April 22.
According to the blog, beginning on April 22, Hawaiian app users will be able to change or cancel flights directly in the app, share boarding passes and book flights with more than 30 airline partners, including oneworld alliance members, using cash or points. There also will be Apple Pay integration.
You’ll still be able to manage existing travel, and Atmos Rewards benefits, login and passwords will remain unchanged, the post notes.
And although the single app supports both airlines, users can choose between an Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines theme.
“The unified app is a key milestone in Alaska and Hawaiian's ongoing investments to deliver a seamless guest experience across its combined global network,” the airlines said. “Today, guests benefit from shared lobby spaces, reduced lobby lines with modern bag-tag stations and a best-in-class loyalty program.
“By bringing both airlines into one app and the same passenger service system on April 22, guests will enjoy simplified trip management and self-service features across Alaska and Hawaiian airlines, and consistent performance improvements to our technology.”
Coming soon
What is a passenger service system?
"It means that instead of having two separate systems where tickets are housed, [it's] all in one," Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow told ASD following a pau hana hosted by Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i earlier this month, where she shared updates about the company. "So one confirmation code, any employee can help you with your ticket, it just makes the travel experience more seamless across the brands."
Spokesperson Alex Da Silva says it’s usually referred to as the central nervous system of IT for an airline, with every piece of passenger information connected to the PSS — when you book, when you’re issued your record locator, day-of travel updates, post-trip emails and even the information on the baggage tag system, on the app and loyalty information.
“That’s why we launched things in sequence and in phases,” he explained. “The Atmos Rewards program came first, the baggage tag system came next, and now we’re rolling out the app right as we get ready to join PSS, so that by the time we all join, all of the systems [are] up and running, they’re online and it allows our employees … to service every guest, whether they’re flying Hawaiian or Alaska, which we know has been sort of a frustrating limitation of the combination so far. That’s why we’re super excited to be on the same PSS, because it’s going to make lives easier for our guests, but also our employees.”
Alaska Air Group Inc. and Hawaiian Holdings Inc. announced in December 2023 that Alaska Airlines would acquire Hawaiian Airlines in a deal that was valued at approximately $1.9 billion, including $900 million of Hawaiian’s net debt, according to an announcement at that time. The acquisition was completed in September 2024.
There were four major integration milestones, Da Silva said: the launch of a single loyalty program, Atmos Rewards; the receipt of a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration; the single passenger service system; and the joint collective bargaining agreements for the airlines’ various unions.
Birkett Rakow became CEO on Oct. 29, the same day that Alaska Airlines received its single operating certificate.
Earlier this year, Hawaiian Airlines and state officials announced the Kahu‘ewai Hawai‘i Investment Plan, which 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,” Birkett Rakow said at that time.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
