Today, the American West has hardly any more than two major companies: Alaska Airlineswhose hub is at Seattleand Hawaiian Airlines whose main base is Honolulu. The only other company based on the West Coast, Virgin Americahas finally been absorbed by Alaska in early 2018.
Alaska Airlines, now the seventh largest carrier in the United States, has welcomed 33.5 million passengers in 2018. In recent months, the company has refocused its operations on the West Coast. Having ceased operating several transcontinental routes, it is now redeploying on a north-south axis, between California and the states bordering Canada. But it remains a mainly a domestic carrierwhich only serves four to five destinations in Canada and Mexico.
This could, in fact, create synergies with the other major carrier in the American West, Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines, which carried almost 12 million passengers in 2018, for its part, is strongly focused on Asia-Pacific, in particular the Japan with several daily flights to TokyoHawaiian also operates flights to Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Tahiti. Hawaiian also operates flights to Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Tahiti.
Within the United States, Hawaiian mainly links Hawaii to the West Coast, but also to Boston and in New York, in partnership with Jetblue. The two networks are therefore perfectly complementary and could eventually lead to cooperation between the two airlines. This kind of synergy would finally make it possible to have a giant made in West Coast. To be continued.
