Amata Meets With Airline Officials for Briefing on Status of Airline Merger
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata met with senior officials on Tuesday from both Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines for a briefing and to discuss issues of concerns that could arise related to the proposed merger between the two airlines, as recently announced, in which Alaska Air will acquire Hawaiian Airlines for approximately $1.9 billion subject to federal regulatory approval.
She met with Alaska Air Group’s Senior Vice President for Fleet, Finance, and Alliances and Treasurer Nathaniel Pieper; Diane Rakow, Alaska Air Senior Vice President for Public Affairs; Hawaiian Airlines representative Margaret L. Cummisky, Managing Director, Federal Government Affairs; and Kate Geldaker, Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Alaska Air.
From left - Congresswoman's Legislative Director Richard Stanton, Managing Director Cumminsky, Senior VP and Treasurer Pieper, Congresswoman Amata, Senior VP for Public Affairs Rakow, and Government
Additionally, prior to the meeting, Hawaiian Airlines COO Jon Snook reached out to Congresswoman Amata in a conference call and assured her that there would be no interruptions to service for American Samoa.
“I appreciate Hawaiian Air COO Snook pro-actively reaching out to me directly to inform me and our people of the potential acquisition, if federal regulators approve this merger,” said Congresswoman Amata. “I greatly appreciate some of the new leadership from Alaska Air including their Treasurer Mr. Pieper coming to the American Samoa congressional office to explain their commitment to American Samoa flight operations along with their continued Hawaii operations.”
In the meeting, first and foremost, the Congresswoman’s priority was to reiterate the absolute need for both airlines and federal regulators to look at how to reduce the cost of travel between Pago Pago and Honolulu.
“This is important air service for our community, including our Veterans who need their VA care in Hawaii on a regular basis,” Congresswoman Amata continued. “Every customer from American Samoa needs relief from the current exorbitant fares, and I will be asking regulators to condition approval of the agreement based on a concrete plan to do so.”
“I would be opposed to a merger if it would raise prices further, and I want to see a meaningful plan to reduce airfares between Pago and Honolulu, so they are more reasonably aligned with the fare price per mile that other jurisdictions pay for similar distances,” said Amata. “The average cost to fly to Los Angeles from Honolulu is less than half the cost to go the same distance from Honolulu to Pago Pago International Airport. I look forward to working with the airlines in addressing the cost issue.”
“I also appreciate Alaska Air’s outreach to explore job training opportunities for both local Samoans and Hawaiians in the industry, as Alaska’s planned expansion in the region with Honolulu as a hub for both freight and passenger traffic could be beneficial to the people of American Samoa in the long run,” concluded Amata. “No doubt Hawaiian Airlines has been working hard in recent years to recover from the pandemic, and I want American Samoa to be part of the solution for Alaska Air’s expansion into the broader Asia-Pacific market with the goals of increased job training and lower cost fares.”
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