Hawaiian Airlines is planning to hire over 200 new employees to fly and service its new West Coast routes previously flown by its parent carrier Alaska Airlines.
Alaska and Hawaiian announced plans to reshuffle their widebody networks on Tuesday, stating that Hawaiian’s Airbus A330 aircraft will begin operating flights from Seattle to Asia and Alaska next year.
A Tuesday report by the Honolulu Star Advertiser stated that Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague said the carrier will likely hire over 100 additional flight attendants, another 100 or so ground crew, and “likely fewer than 100” pilots.
He noted that hiring additional pilots should be easy because “Hawaiian had a pool of pre-screened applicants,” the report continued.
The statement comes days before 73 noncontract employees at Hawaiian are planned to be let go on Dec. 17. Following the announcement of these layoffs in October, an airline spokesperson told Daily News that these job cuts mainly affected “duplicative, noncontract operations support roles at airports.”
Alaska Airlines’ leadership has committed to maintaining Hawaiian’s brand since it pitched the merger in 2023. Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci said during an Investor Day event on Tuesday that flights traveling to, from, and within the islands will remain branded as Hawaiian.
“The Hawaiian brand is here to stay,” he said.
