Holiday Travelers Choose Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines for a Smooth Thanksgiving Journey

Published on December 3, 2025

The Thanksgiving 2025 period was marked by increased air travel, and Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines’ seamless management of air travel and customer service was commendable. Together with Horizon Air, the regional partner, the aircraft operations were around 7,100 flights from Wednesday, November 26 and Sunday, November 30, achieving a historic operational success. Given the strong service commitment during this peak travel period, these airlines should be commended.

The unprecedented demand was met with operational excellence as Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and Hawaiian Airlines collaborated to fulfill the travelers needs. Even with the operational overload, the air travel service was maintained at high standards by the airlines, and the journeys were smooth for the holiday travellers.

During Thanksgiving airlines, such as Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, performed well and exhibited reliability during the peak Thanksgiving travel period. These airlines provided services from Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and Honolulu. These airlines served the popular destinations of Hawaii, Alaska, and other coastal West Coast cities. Hawaiian Airlines, especially, grew its market share by increasing the number of flights and garnering bookings from and to the Hawaiian Islands. The islands receive numerous tourists throughout the year.

Hawaiian Airlines is and continues to be the dominant airline in the industry by capturing the airport market in Hawaii and servicing customers with diverse amenities. The airline has and continues to service flights out of Hawaii to main land destinations like Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as, Vegas. Alaska airlines is directly the most popular airline servicing tourists to the state of Alaska, where the and dogsledding, extreme whale watching, Northern Lights, and other unique and varying winter activities can be enjoyed. The state of Alaska is well known and sought after for its diverse and pristine winter landscapes during the winter season, and, is sought after by many tourists.

The airlines’ exceptional performance over Thanksgiving stems from airline route networks and their commitment towards customer service. These airlines have customer focused investments like in flight entertainment, better IMEA, and offer loyalty programs for frequent fliers. Alaska Airlines is reputed for its customer engagement and service innovations. Alaska Airlines has seamless connections for business travelers and also family travelers and has been dominating the market for customer satisfaction.

On the contrary, Hawaiian Airlines has been outstanding for travelers wanting to capture the beauty of the aloanian islands. The airline incorporates a Hawaiian travel experience with inflight meals, entertainment and items that promote the Hawaiian culture. Hawaiian Airlines garners the leisure travel market very effectively during the holidays, offering incentives for travelers wanting to escape to a tropical paradise.

Additionally, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines ensured that their regional networks were well attended to. Horizon Air, the regional partner of both airlines, provided a large portion of the short-haul market and was able to connect small cities to the major air hubs, allowing for greater downstream travel to important destinations. This coordination allowed for a streamlined service with the mainline and regional airlines that limited disruptions, and improved passenger flow for the holidays.

Meeting Demand: Operational Performance

Unprecedented service quality was the result of being able to fully meet passenger demand across the airlines’ networks. Internal Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines reports notwithstanding extreme inflow, holiday travel volumes, and adverse weather, on time performance and baggage delivery was strong, with minimal delays across the networks. The ability of both airlines to deliver to their customers on time to their destinations, reliably, during holiday travel is a strong indicator of the operational efficiency of both airlines. Such efficiency underpinned strong customer loyalty and the perception both airlines could be relied upon.

Aspects operational excellence along with addressing customers’ safety and comfort is an area that is prioritized by both airlines. Given the global pandemic and its effects, both airlines adopted measures that included regularly scheduled sanitization of planes, wearing face masks, and other measures that protect the safety of passengers and employees during their flights. Considering the holiday travel is forecasted to be quite busy, airline’s customers and employees proactive measures to maintain a sanitary and safe environment during flights will be a choice influencer to travel by air.

The Increased Need For Regional Travel

Besides the international travels options Alaska Airlines offers, its regional services is also gaining attention especially to customers seeking travel connections to/from small towns to popular profitable tourist center cities. Alaska Airlines has been adding and continues to increase aircraft availability on its regional routes, along with more flights on a regular bases to important West Coast travel points. This added ease of travel accessibility benefits those tourists visiting the U.S. to hike on the many trails and explore the less popular cities, while still visiting the popular travel cites of Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

Tourism Impact: A Boost for Hawaii and Alaska

For the destinations they serve, both Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are leading contributors to the tourism industry and both are enjoying unprecedented tourist traffic. Known for its treasure of beaches, diverse and rich landscapes, and developed culture, Hawaii maintains a strong preference for a vacation destination for those looking to lounge and/ or engage in adventurous recreation. In contrast, Alaska, with its developed winter experience offers extreme wilderness, differentiated wildlife, and national parks. The airlines’ contribution to the accessibility of the destinations to a larger volume of travelers during the Thanksgiving holidays is a profit to the airlines and a valuable support to the destination economies of tourism profit.

Conclusion

Concerning the performance of Alaska and Hawaiian during Thanksgiving 2025, a peak volume is no longer a challenge to the level of performance they have both delivered. Passenger service excellence and strong competition in the provision of reliable, comfortable, and efficient travel services to the most sought tourism destinations in the USA has increasingly become a tradition for both. The level performance they have attained in this peak travel period is a continuous reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit and operational excellence.