Early 2026 will see oneworld welcome Hawaiian Airlines as its 16th member airline. This marks the alliance’s third member from North America, as they join Alaska Airlines and American Airlines in the alliance.
Hawaiian Airlines is a great Business Class option for travellers visiting North America. More details around flights, Qantas Points, and Status Credits will be released in the coming months. Watch this space and enquire with our specialists for further information.
Expected to take place in spring 2026, this development has been in the works for quite some time. Since fellow oneworld member, Alaska Airlines, finalised its USD$1.9 billion buyout of Hawaiian Airlines in late 2024. This is fantastic news for travellers as it means other oneworld member airlines will now be able to earn their respective airline points and status credits even when travelling with Hawaiian Airlines - they will also be able to redeem points or miles for seats.
Alaska Airlines Vice President Brett Catlin confirmed the announcement during a recent Q&A, stating, “Involves a lot of coordination behind the scenes… It’s a mix of technical integration, commercial agreements, and making sure the member experience feels seamless.”
Alaska Airlines has also shared its plans to acquire the Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787 fleet and establish its own long-range fleet for flights between Seattle and Asia as well as Europe - with potential plans to expand into Australia.
Hawaiian Airlines will continue to operate its older A330 aircrafts. They will remain a backbone for flights between Honolulu and mainland US destinations, as well as premium Asia-Pacific destinations. Hawaiian Airlines has since shared plans to upgrade its Business Class product with features such as mood lighting, and more to be revealed. The new Business Class seats will completely replace the current outdated models found on the A330 - currently arranged in a 2-2-2 format with 18 seats across 3 rows. Travellers will be able to fly between Sydney and Honolulu on board the A330’s Business Class product and onto all their favourite North American destinations.
“We’re going to be reconfiguring the A330 and increasing the first class cabin, the J cabin,” Alaska Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison said.
There are two dozen A330 aircrafts in the Hawaiian Airlines fleet, and the refurbishment is expected to take place over the next few years - more details are said to be shared in 2026.
Get the most out of the oneworld alliance by flying Hawaiian Airlines Business Class to North America. You can get in touch with an Airfare Specialist to discuss further details!
