Frequent flyers of Alaska Airlines can expect the debut of the new carrier’s loyalty program this summer.
The program is a key step in the fusion of the airline based in Seattle with Hawaiian Airlines. The program still does not combine and replace the Alaska mileage plan and Hawaiian, Hawaiianmiles programs.
During a quarterly gain call with investors on Thursday, the Alaska Airlines CEO, Ben Minicucci, described the new program as “Another exciting step to improve our guest experience.” The loyalty platform will be combined with a New Premium Credit Card also.
The imminence of the new Alaska loyalty program is not to prevent travelers from registering in one of their credit cards of the existing coprabested mileage plan. The number of card records increased by 26% year after year in the first quarter; Much of that activity occurred in Hawaii, where records increased by 40%. This helped boost the income of the cards charged for Alaska in a challenging period.
Alaska saw the same slowdown in the demand for travel of the United States in the first quarter that other operators reported. Contributed to a net loss during the period and led the operator to delay any orientation update for the whole year. However, the executives expressed their confidence that the fund has passed.
“The general reserves have stabilized as we expect, although with lower yields than we had planned,” said Andrew Harrison, commercial director of Alaska, during the call. The yields refer to the payment of air tickets.
Deceleration or not, Alaska executives remain optimistic in the future of the airline.
Premium working well, even when the demand slows down
Alaska’s investment in its premium offers is demonstrating to be prophetic. The revenues of the first -class economic seats and extrabarcos (or “Premium class”, as Alaska refers to them) grew faster than the income of the economic seats in the first quarter, executives said.
The airline is in the process of modernizing more than 200 Boeing 737s with additional premium seats. The program will add four first class seats (doing 16 in total) to its 737-800; It will also add six more extracborom economic seats in total (doing 30 in total) to 737-900ers and 737 max 9s. The new 737 Max 8 will begin in May with the same design as the 737-800 updated.
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Alaska aims to complete updates to more than half of its 159 737-900ers and Max 9s (84 airplanes) for July, Harrison said. The work in its 59 737-800 will begin this summer. The carrier aims to complete premium reviews for the summer of 2026.
Alaska-Hawaiian fusion is moving in Pace
Alaska trusts at the time of the main milestones in his fusion with Hawaii, said Minicucci. The airline maintains plans for a single operational certificate, the document that allows them to operate as a commercial airline, of the Federal Aviation Administration in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Hawaiian is scheduled to move to the Alaska Reserve System (also known as a “passenger service system”) in the second quarter of 2026. The reservation system cut is one of the most tense steps in any merger of the airline. However, Alaska succeeded with just a hicc as he integrated Virgin America in 2018.
When asked if the notoriously slow bureaucracy of FAA could affect the moment, Minicucci said he does not expect a delay.
“In general, Hawaii is a brilliant point for us,” he said about fusion and market. “Everything we are doing is ahead of expectations.”
California, not only San Diego, is still key to Alaska
Alaska executives faced the scrutiny of their California strategy. In the days before the call, the airline Axed four longer routes from the Los Angeles International Airport (Lax) and the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and TI Three was added from the San Diego International Airport (San).
“San Francisco and Los Angeles are still a key part of our California strategy,” Harrison said in response to questions about the future of the airline in the two largest airports in Golden State.
He said that the growth of San Diego is part of a long -term play that fits its loyalty strategy. Alaska has constantly grown in the southern Metropolis in the last decade to become the second largest airline in the airport on flights and seats after the Airlines of the Southwest, they program the data of the Cirium Aviation Analysis Firm.
Alaska sees the “highest average card spending” in San Diego of any of his California markets, Harrison said.
“San Diego has just worked very, very well in our growth,” he continued. “That is a place where we will continue to invest.”
Alaska plans to operate 90 San Diego peak day outputs in October. This includes additional flights to key destinations, including the Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) LAS VEGAS (LAS), Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and San José Mineta International Airport (SJC).
