channa

You don't need the W bucket to redeem an AS award.

If anything, AS's awards fluctuating with inventory to some extent much mirrors WN's award system which fluctuations with the cash price of the ticket.

ashill

For sure.

Although I think AS is kind of a hybrid in its appeal (between WN and the big three). A lot of FT also at AS's network and how terrible it is now that AA and DL are gone as partners. But the reality is that there is a much larger market for whom a decent economy product, a fair fee structure, and a customer-friendly attitude and reputation matter, and AS like WN beats the majors on those points, though not to the same extent.

That is certainly true (and a feature I honestly forgot about; WN isn't much used to me being based in interior BC!). Although it's a good bit harder to get than an AS credit card, AFAIK. AS's credit card penetration in WA and OR is absolutely enormous, as I understand it. The same is not true of the WN Companion Pass. Weighted by amount of air travel, that's somewhat different

eponymous_coward

Since when do AS Hawaii awards fluctuate rationally with price/inventory? The nonstop is a less expensive cash ticket but costs almost 2x more in miles. The W bucket is open on the one-stop, but it's not open on the less expensive nonstop flight. This took me something like two seconds to find. Since when does WN price nonstops nearly twice as much as one-stops on WGA awards if the cash price is LESS?

ucdtim17

Troopers

AS already canceled my OAK-HNL summer flight.

formeraa

I am sure that was due to the upcoming WN competition...

diver858

Much of that WN growth has been on relatively short flights, or connections between secondary, under-served airports. I find it hard to believe that open seating complications, lack of catering, seat power outlets will work well for families on 5+ hour flights.

diver858

Something to be said for a reliable, tested, all Boeing fleet: https://news.get.com/hawaiian-airlin...ndreds-flights

3Cforme

That's going to hurt CASM if the hoarders disproportionately chose WN. Bags really don't fly free - they have a handling cost, and the cost of transporting weight over a long distance.

I'd love to see the assumptions about use of Companion Pass. High use would kill RASM.

Southwest may be a successful competitor to Hawaii. I don't believe it's fair to say Alaska has no competitive advantages in the West Coast-Hawaii market.

diver858

Interesting data. Keep in mind that WN pulled a DL back in 2015, made WGA redemption rates variable So, How Bad Was Southwest's Recent Devaluation? - One Mile at a Time. So while Kelly will likely allow WGA redemption if/when they FINALLY start Hawaii service, I believe it is reasonable to expect poor valuations.
Will be fun to watch all of the whining and moaning in the WN forum when they see WGA Hawaii redemption rates - particularly during peak holiday travel periods.

SF1K

CDKing

First of all thats is IF they dont restrict Companion Pass from being used on Hawaii routes. Second most of those will expire before Hawaii opens up.

CDKing

First of all thats is IF they dont restrict Companion Pass from being used on Hawaii routes. Second most of those will expire before Hawaii opens up. I dont know how WN would survive being the cheapest carrier and give away all those 2 for 1's

ashill

If they do have lots of Companion Passes floating around, I suspect they won’t set their fares to be the cheapest. In my (non-scientific) experience, AS is rarely if ever the cheapest to Hawaii, but they work out the best for us through the combination of liking the airline better and the credit card companion certificate (which isn’t as nice as the WN Companion Pass but is much nicer than what’s available on the big three, AFAIK). I would imagine (without any actual knowledge) that tons of people use their AS companion certificates for Hawaii trips.

Troopers

AS discontinued the Tues and Thurs OAK-HNL flights, previously daily.