Hawaiian Flights Soon to Carry AS Code as Alaska Merger Clears FAA Hurdle

The final milestone of Alaska Air Group’s purchase of Hawaiian Airlines was reached on Wednesday, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a Single Operating Certificate (SOC) to the combined airline.

The news means that, while the two will continue to operate as separate brands, they’ll now operate under a single call sign (AS) for communication with air traffic control. They will also transition to a single passenger service system (PSS) next spring.

Once that happens, all Hawaiian flights will carry the AS code, even though the Hawaiian brand will remain separate. (The HA code will remain active until the transition to the PSS is complete.)

Today also marks another milestone in the deal: Diana Birkett Rakow officially takes the helm as CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, taking over for the retiring Joe Sprague. Sprague, who started with Alaska over 25 years ago, had been serving as Hawaiian’s president since September 2024, following the deal being made official.

Alaska originally made the deal public in December 2023, paying $1.9 billion for Hawaiian Airlines. This combination created an airline that kept Alaska as the fifth-largest North American airline by passengers carried, behind Delta, American, Southwest, and United.