Airline mergers create a lot of attention but very little margin for error when it comes to operational reputation. Pilots and frontline crews know this instinctively. A stitch in operations that looks like a small cost saver on paper can become a big safety or brand problem in the cabin or on the ramp. With Alaska Air Group’s proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings announced in December 2023 and subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions, the next 12 to 18 months will be the window where brand safety is built or eroded.

From an operational standpoint, treat brand safety as a systems integration problem first and a marketing problem second. That means three immediate priorities.

1) Lock down operational separation plans until regulatory clearances and approvals are final Maintain Hawaiian’s local operating arrangements, dispatch practices, and island-specific procedures until you have formal approval to consolidate operating certificates or passenger service systems. Regulatory timing agreements and the recent Second Request from the Antitrust Division of the DOJ make clear there is a formal review process that the carriers are navigating, and that timeline triggered a waiting period when both companies certified substantial compliance on May 7, 2024. Don’t conflate commercial intent with operational permission.

2) Preserve the safety culture that guests associate with the Hawaiian brand Hawaiian’s service reputation and its operational experience flying inter-island routes are brand assets that live in people and procedures more than in logos. Preserve established SOPs, local crew base practices, and maintenance protocols while integration teams study equivalencies. Any effort to accelerate an SOP merger to hit a commercial target risks degrading predictable operations, especially in complex island weather and short-field airport environments. Keep separate safety management system (SMS) reporting lines at first and require cross-organization safety reviews before any harmonization. (This is a practical, crew-forward move that keeps both safety and brand intact.)

3) Plan pilot, dispatcher and maintenance integration around competence, not calendars Pilot training, pairing rules, duty-time considerations and scope clause implications are where you can cause the most brand damage if you get aggressive. Treat training syllabi, differences training, LOAs and fatigue-management protocols as sacrosanct items that require union engagement and FAA-ready evidence. A rushed bidline or an ill-timed crew reschedule that increases delays will be reported and framed as a loss of the brand values customers paid for. Invest in cross-fleet simulators, maintain separate crew pools for sensitive inter-island operations until integration is approved, and communicate conservative operational milestones to the market.

Protecting brand safety also requires attention to areas beyond the flight deck.

IT and passenger systems: merge with rollback plans Passenger service systems and departure control software are low tolerance, high-impact systems for guest experience and operational flow. Any cutover plan needs a tested rollback path, multi-day dry runs in off-peak hours, and a staged approach so Hawaiian guests still see predictable baggage handling, connections, and loyalty accounting. Locks on mileage preservation and customer protections are central to consumer perception; the public messages in the transaction materials state a commitment to protecting guest benefits and supports a staged loyalty integration.

Ground operations and local partnerships Hawaiian’s ground handling relationships, airport slot practices and local vendor agreements are part of the brand promise in Hawaii. Preserve vendor continuity where feasible and negotiate clear service-level agreements during the transition. Airport staffing is where brand cues are delivered in person. Sudden changes to gate staffing, lounge access, or inter-island ground handling risk creating a direct and visible perception of decline.

Regulator and community expectations matter The transaction is under antitrust review and has already drawn private litigation and regulatory scrutiny; a consumer lawsuit was filed in April 2024 challenging the proposed combination on competition grounds. That context matters for brand safety. Clear, public-facing commitments to preserving key routes, protecting loyalty value, and supporting Hawai‘i employment will reduce reputational risk during regulatory review. Keep corporate promises documented and operationally testable so regulators and community stakeholders see follow-through.

Practical checklist for the next 90 to 180 days (operational checklist for crews and ops managers)

  • Maintain two fully staffed operational centers with defined escalation matrices.
  • Freeze cross-brand SOP changes unless safety-driven and FAA/OPS-approved.
  • Run joint safety audits with cross-company teams but keep corrective actions implemented locally until certificates or approvals permit consolidation.
  • Stage IT/PSS migrations in non-peak windows with rollback capability and manual procedures rehearsed.
  • Publicly document commitments to route and loyalty continuity; align communications with actual operational readiness before making consumer-facing promises.

Bottom line If leadership treats preservation of the Hawaiian brand’s operational competencies as optional speedbumps on a commercial timetable, the company will pay in customer trust and crew morale. If, instead, they treat brand safety as the integration backbone and move deliberately with documented, conservative operational milestones and contingency plans, the combination has a chance to both protect what guests value and create a stronger, larger network. That is the only practical way to win on safety and brand at the same time.