As Hawaiian Airlines' Last Flight Lands in Honolulu, Folks Are Asking What Happened

Travelers are wondering what happened to Hawaiian Airlines after learning that the airline recently flew its final flight. Hawaiian Airlines' final flight landed in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Oct. 29, 2025.

In 2023, Hawaiian Airlines revealed that they'd built a new luxury Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane. The aircraft was equipped with cabana-style suites with starlit ceilings. The 300-seat airplane also featured flat-bed business class suites with an 18-inch entertainment TV screen, personal outlets, and wireless charging. So, what happened?

According to Beat of Hawaii, the airline was acquired by Alaska Airlines, which ended 95 years of Hawaiian Airlines as a standalone airline. KHON News reports that Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will have a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration going forward and will operate under a one regulatory framework. Training, safety procedures, and manuals will all be under Alaska Air Group, although the two brands will still fly as separate brands.

The CEO and president of Alaska Air Group, Ben Minicucci, released a statement about the merger and noted that the merger had been in the works for a year.

"This was a year-long, multi-phase effort involving thousands of hours of work," he said. "It’s an important step in our journey as a combined organization, and I’m excited about our future together.”

One passenger on the last Hawaiian Airlines flight, Peter Rockford Espiritu, expressed sadness at the merger.

"As a native Hawaiian, you can tell when visitors come over," he said. "The way they’re treated, the music, the excitement. It’s so sad when they leave. But the aloha just naturally comes out of us — it’s part of our DNA. Without that, I don’t know. ... It’s hard to explain unless you come to Hawaiʻi. We may not know each other, but we all share that aloha. It’s not just a name — it’s a way of life.”

Hawaiian Airlines had a proud heritage and was Hawaii’s only major commercial airline that was built in the islands. "It’s not just a name,” Peter added. “It’s who we are.”

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will merge flight scheduling and customer service platforms over the next couple of months, with a unified passenger system to be in place by 2026. Hawaiian Airlines employees will no longer wear their uniforms, and they will transition to wearing Alaska Airlines uniforms.

However, the airline will still feature island music, free food, and its signature pink-and-purple Pualani tails. The merger between the two airlines is meant to expand connectivity and perks for travelers. The merger between the two airlines will affect around 7,000 Hawaiian Airlines staff, and flight attendants and pilots hope to retain their seniority status under the merger. One former employee of Hawaiian Airlines, Leilani, says she hopes things don't change too much with the merger,

"I worked for the airline for 23 years," she said. " We were a family. I hope Alaska understands that what made Hawaiian special wasn’t just the paint job.”