About 250 Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants reassigned to Seattle to staff new long-haul international routes may no longer wear flowers in their hair, lei or aloha shirts on certain flights — a highly visible change as Alaska Air
Group works to merge
operations while keeping two distinct brands.
The policy highlights the challenges Alaska faces in its $1.9 billion September 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings, particularly the effort to merge crews, aircraft, and operating systems without weakening the distinct brands executives say are central to customer loyalty. The two‑brand strategy — described by executives as unprecedented in the U.S. airline industry — comes as the carriers work to combine union contracts, the
final major milestone in the integration.
“It’s not something that has been done by a U.S. airline before,” said Eric Edge, vice president of brand and marketing for both Alaska and Hawaiian. “There isn’t something that we can point to and say, ‘Let’s do it like them. We’ll copy them.’ We are doing this on our own.”
For Hawaiian, that identity is symbolized by “Pualani,” the airline’s “flower of the sky” logo. Introduced in 1973, it depicts an image of a woman with a flower in her hair and is closely tied to Hawaiian’s history and cultural roots. Hawaiian flight attendants have had permission to wear flowers in their hair since the 1950s.
“Anytime you see Pualani … it’s 96 years of memories of traveling between the
islands and exploring new destinations and the sense of warm Hawaiian hospitality,” said Alisa Onishi, managing director of Hawaii marketing for Hawaiian and Alaska airlines.
“Our brand is so tied to Hawaii that there’s a kuleana (duty) because we carry the name Hawaiian … we represent the people and place”
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The new restrictions apply to flights operated on Hawaiian Airlines’ wide-body aircraft that now fly under the Alaska Airlines brand to destinations in
Europe and Asia. Although the flight attendants remain covered by Hawaiian’s labor contracts at this stage of the merger, the flights are marketed as Alaska service, requiring different appearance standards, executives said.
Onishi said the accessory rules vary by route. “If you are flying to Hawaii anything that touches Hawaii, even if it’s Alaska branded, if it’s on a 787 or even the 737s that are served by the Alaska flight attendants, they can wear flowers in their hair. They can wear lei.”
The policy affects roughly 250 Seattle-based Hawaiian flight attendants, though others can pick up assignments. Most of the new wide-body Seattle positions were filled through voluntary bids by Hawaiian flight attendants, with newer hires assigned this spring.
Establishing new rules for when flower hair accessories — long part of Hawaiian’s uniform tradition — has emerged as an early flashpoint in the integration. “We have flight attendants that have flown for 40 years that are now part of this Seattle base that tie the flower in their hair to their identity
as even a flight attendant,” Onishi said.
She called the issue “a great example of a challenge that we had to face in order to keep each brand’s
integrity.”
“We had to make difficult decisions that will be hard for our employees to adjust to, but ultimately as we explain why we are making these decisions the employees will understand,” she said. “If we don’t draw the line, we will have a hard time protecting both brands.”
Under an interim policy, flight attendants on Boeing 787 Dreamliners — Hawaiian aircraft now operating Alaska’s international routes from Seattle — wear a blended uniform, replacing aloha shirts with neutral tops accented by Alaska’s Aurora Borealis-inspired livery. Leaders acknowledged
some pushback.
“We have lots of opinions from our union leadership as well as our flight attendants. Not everybody is happy necessarily about the decision,” Onishi said. “But once we explain it, they understand how important it is to not mix our brands.”
Executives say the restrictions reflect a broader effort to avoid blurring the two airlines as operations become more integrated. “One of the worst things that we could do is start to let these brands come together,” Edge said.
The approach extends beyond uniforms to onboard service, marketing, and technology. Hawaiian Airlines currently brings a roster of local partners to the cabin — Noho Home for amenity kits, POG juice, Lion Coffee, Ko Hana Rum, Maui Brewing, and Mauna Loa macadamia nuts, among others. Alaska’s offerings
include Stumptown Coffee, Fremont Brewing, Tillamook and Beecher’s cheeses, and Filson‑branded bedding and amenity kits. Both airline brands also work with local chefs from Hawaii and the Seattle area to shape their in-flight dining programs.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines begin flying under a single operating certificate in October. In April, the airlines moved to a single reservation system, allowing passengers to book across both carriers. The company is now working to combine Alaska and Hawaiian union contracts, the last big integration milestone.
“Success is that our employees are continuing to support both brands … Our guests will understand what they are going to experience on Alaska versus our Hawaiian aircraft,” Onishi said.
“Ultimately, it’s giving our guests more choice.”
The strategy has required coordination with unions as the company works toward joint labor agreements with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-CWA, the union representing flight
attendants in the United States. The AFA Alaska and the Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee met from April 28 to April 30 in Seattle and the next negotiation
session is scheduled for June 2 to June 4.
AFA said in an email, “We have advocated from the start that Hawaiian maintains their brand identity and we will continue to hold the company accountable to their promise to the employees and to the public.”
Onishi said a new uniform program, expected to include brand-specific elements such as prints by Hawaiian designer Sig Zane, is in development with employee input. She said planning also assumes a future where employees may work across both brands.
Edge said maintaining two brands reflects deep ties to the communities each airline serves. “Both brands were founded in a way that was connecting communities that were fully dependent on these brands and these airlines to deliver everything from the very basics of food to medical care to connecting community to connecting schools to compete in sports or music or the arts,” he said. “That’s so unique in the airline industry, and it’s something we want to embrace, and we want to build on. We don’t want to turn our back on that.”
More changes are expected as integration continues. “Change is always hard,” Onishi said. “At first, I thought I was the protector of the Hawaiian brand, but now I feel very protective of both. We cannot really think of one without thinking about the other.”
Long term, executives say success depends on maintaining that distinction while operating as one airline. “Us delivering a safe airline and getting people where they need to go safely is priority No. 1,” Edge said. “We maintain the trust of our guests through safety, but it also comes through us delivering on the experience that they expect of all of us as shepherds of each of these brands.”
