Alaska Airlines has always been an interesting carrier in the US. It’s a smaller airline focused on one specific region (the Pacific Northwest), yet it operates like a large legacy carrier, and it’s one of the most beloved airline brands in the country. Now, the carrier has acquired Hawaiian Airlines, and this presents a set of unique challenges. Most notably, Alaska has committed to maintaining the Hawaiian Airlines brand as a separate subsidiary, despite both brands flying under Alaska’s operating certificate.

Not only does this bring the challenge of managing two brands under one air operating certificate (AOC), but Hawaiian’s fleet is made up of different aircraft than Alaska’s. Alaska exclusively uses the Boeing 737, whereas Hawaiian Airlines flies the A321neo, the A330, the 717, and the 787. The A330s will receive new interiors, while the 787s will be transferred to Alaska, and the 717s will be retired. However, the future of the small A321neo fleet is in question, given Alaska’s commitment to the 737. Will we see Alaska repaint some 737s in Hawaiian’s colors to replace these planes?

Looking At Alaska Airlines’ Fleet Strategy

For years, Alaska Airlines has been « proudly all Boeing« . Ever since it retired its McDonnell Douglas MD-83 fleet in 2008, Alaska Airlines has only operated Boeing 737s in its mainline fleet. At the time, this consisted of the 737-400, 737-700, 737-800, and the 737-900. The 737-400s were retired in 2018, while the 737-900s were retired in 2025. Since then, Alaska has also acquired the 737-900ER, the 737 MAX 8, and the 737 MAX 9, with the 737 MAX 10 also currently on order. Of course, its regional Alaska Horizon brand does not use Boeing aircraft.

This changed in 2018, when the carrier acquired Virgin America. Virgin America relied exclusively on the Airbus A320 family, primarily the A319-100, A320-200, as well as a small fleet of 10 early A321neos that retained the A321-200’s exit layout. With this merger, Alaska Airlines was no longer an all-Boeing airline, but this wouldn’t be for long. In 2020, the carrier removed all A319-100s, and the rest of the Airbus fleet would soon follow in 2023, all replaced with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Introducing a new aircraft type creates several complications due to parts differences and crew training. However, the Airbus fleet was also under expensive leases that were uneconomical for Alaska to continue. This, combined with the small size of the fleet, was why the young A321neos were removed, given that the A321neo is otherwise in incredibly high demand. But now, this decision calls into question whether Alaska Airlines will also remove the 18 A321neos present in Hawaiian Airlines’ fleet, given the small size of this fleet.

Alaska Airlines’ Strategy After The Hawaiian Merger

The most notable change that will come with the merger is that Hawaiian’s Boeing 787-9 orders will be transferred to Alaska Airlines. The carrier has also increased the number of 787-9s on order, and added five 787-10s. The four 787-9s currently in service with Hawaiian will also be transferred to Alaska Airlines. The carrier is planning an ambitious long-haul expansion out of its hub in Seattle Tacoma International Airport, primarily to compete against Delta Air Lines.

The 787s were originally intended to partially replace Hawaiian’s Airbus A330-200 fleet, but Alaska has announced that all 24 A330-200s in service will be refurbished with new interiors. These aircraft are young and cost-effective to operate, so it makes sense that Alaska will retain this fleet to serve all long-haul routes out of Hawaii. However, there’s the question of Hawaiian’s Airbus A321neo fleet.

These aircraft operate lower-demand routes from Hawaii to the mainland United States, a role that Alaska Airlines uses the Boeing 737 for. These aircraft are incredibly efficient and have similar cockpits to Hawaiian’s A330s, decreasing pilot training costs. However, with only 18 aircraft in service, the fleet is too small to be economical compared to Alaska’s fleet of nearly 250 Boeing 737s, which led to the removal of the former Virgin America A321neo fleet in 2023.

In early December 2025, Alaska Airlines CFO Shane Tackett spoke at the Goldman Sachs Industrials Conference and commented on the carrier’s narrowbody fleet strategy. As reported by Seeking Alpha, these were his words,

… the 717s need to be replaced, they’ll likely be replaced with 737s of some sort… then the number of A321s we have is too few. And so you need double that number or 0… if we saw line of sight to doubling the size of that fleet, we would pursue that opportunity. If we don’t and today we don’t, then we’d probably end up in a place over time that was a single narrow-body fleet.

The carrier is clearly taking a cautious approach regarding fleet costs. While there are missions that the Airbus A321neo can perform better than the Boeing 737 MAX, the small size of the fleet is proving prohibitive. It’s also worth noting that Hawaiian’s Airbus A321neo fleet is equipped with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G, which has no commonality with the CFM LEAP-1B used on Alaska’s 737 MAX fleet. It’s a completely different aircraft type, and with only 18 planes, it’s expensive to own and operate.

Tackett’s comments explicitly state that the carrier would be open to retaining the fleet if more aircraft can be added, but the issue then is where to source them. Because it’s a new aircraft type, used Airbus A321neos are relatively difficult to come by, and the wait time for new Airbus A321neos spans several years. In addition, the plane is expensive to acquire, and entering into leasing agreements would also result in high capital costs given the aircraft’s high demand. While it’s not impossible, it wouldn’t come easily or cheaply for Alaska. Then, you also have the question of the Boeing 717 replacements.

Replacing The Boeing 717 Fleet

The Boeing 717 is used for Hawaiian’s interisland operations. These aircraft operate over a dozen flights per day that are typically shorter than an hour, which puts immense strain on the aircraft’s engines. The 717’s Rolls-Royce BR715 engines are fairly well suited to handle these intense operations, but newer aircraft engines like the PW1100G or the CFM LEAP would face extreme wear and tear, while the improved fuel efficiency would have little impact on these exceptionally short sectors.

Tackett commented that while Alaska is exploring replacing the aging 717s with another aircraft type (likely a small mainline plane like the Embraer E190 or E195), the Boeing 737 is the frontrunner. Practically speaking, this could be a mix of 737 MAXs performing these flights in between flights to or from the mainland, along with older 737NGs being moved to Hawaii to focus on these operations. Naturally, these planes would be painted in the Hawaiian livery, and the carrier would also need to establish a 737 pilot base in Honolulu.

If Hawaiian goes with the Boeing 737 for interisland operations, then a small fleet of 18 Airbus A321neos makes even less sense. The aircraft, with its advanced PW1100G engines, is ill-suited for interisland flights, and its operations to the US mainland could largely be taken over by the 737 MAX. The parts supply would be small, and the pilot base would be comparatively small. Instead, the carrier could simply move 737s to Honolulu while retiring the A321neo and the 717, thereby only basing the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A330 in Honolulu.

The Verdict On A Hawaiian 737

The real benefit of the Airbus A321neo for Hawaiian Airlines is the capability. Hawaiian’s examples are equipped with two auxiliary fuel tanks, and this boosts the aircraft’s range beyond that of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 or 737 MAX 10. As such, Hawaiian uses the aircraft to serve destinations such as the Cook Islands. While a 737 MAX 8 could also operate this route, Alaska has very few examples in its fleet, and the A321neo carries more passengers. In addition, the type also has superior field performance compared to the 737 MAX 9 or 737 MAX 10, which is beneficial for airports such as Kahului.

However, Alaska continues to display a preference for a streamlined, cost-effective fleet, rather than a diverse fleet with multiple types to suit different missions. Alaska has the option of transferring its 737 MAX 8s, switching certain routes to widebodies, or dropping routes altogether. While it could acquire more A321neos to improve the fleet’s economics, those would be expensive to acquire, and the carrier is also leaning towards using the Boeing 737 for interisland operations. Basing two narrowbody types in Honolulu would be expensive and logistically inefficient.

It’s certainly possible that Alaska Airlines may utilize another aircraft type for interisland flights, and it’s also possible that the carrier will grow the A321neo fleet. However, given the company’s current preferences, as well as its general fleet strategy, it’s far more likely that not only will Alaska Airlines bid farewell to the A321neo for a second time, but that all Hawaiian Airlines branded narrowbody aircraft will eventually be Boeing 737s.