Alaska Airlines finished transitioning to a new passenger service system in April 2025, capping an 18-month effort triggered by its $1.9 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024. The project represents what CIO Charu Jain calls "one of the biggest milestones in any merger work done between airlines," according to a detailed account published by CIO.com. The overhaul allowed both carriers to operate on a single software platform while maintaining their distinct brand identities, a first in airline industry mergers.
The cutover process began immediately after the acquisition closed, with both airlines selecting a passenger service system built by travel software maker Sabre. Starting in October 2024, all fresh reservations were entered into the new system as part of what Alaska termed a "selling cutover," allowing old bookings to gradually drain from the legacy platforms. This approach meant the airline didn't have to migrate millions of existing records and bookings, since customers checking in on launch day found their reservations already native to the new system. The airline conducted five full dress rehearsals in the months before go-live, including mock flights for domestic and international routes with real passengers arriving at airports, checking in, passing through security, and taking seats as if preparing for departure. These simulations covered baggage pickup, pets, wheelchair assistance, and onboard service, stopping just short of serving actual meals.
According to Jain, who has 30 years of aviation experience and four previous merger integrations, the project delivered greater satisfaction than any comparable undertaking in her career. "A PSS touches almost every function of an airline from employees to guests," Jain noted, explaining that the system manages a passenger's entire journey from ticket purchase and baggage check-in to boarding and accessing in-flight menus. The fifth and final rehearsal ran without any medium or high-severity issues, giving the team confidence to proceed. Alaska also established command centers in multiple cities, including Honolulu and Seattle, to handle unrelated problems that might surface on cutover day.
The project's complexity stemmed from its dual requirements: maintaining two century-old airline brands on a single technical foundation while avoiding disruptions in a live environment where any interruption harms business. Alaska began training staff on the new system last fall when the selling cutover started, and confirmed in that same period that the transition would finish by April 2025, just before peak summer travel season. The airline has since launched a unified mobile app replacing Alaska and Hawaiian's separate applications, allowing travelers to customize their experience based on brand preference. For a business where the typical booking window stretches six months out, the phased deployment strategy meant new reservations accumulated naturally in the target system rather than requiring a risky mass data transfer. The collaborative effort drew on both airlines' operational teams—pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers—and commercial departments handling policies and pricing, underscoring that technology integration is ultimately about people working across organizational boundaries. Industry watchers may see this as a test case for whether carriers can preserve customer loyalty and brand equity while capturing the cost efficiencies that justify billion-dollar acquisitions.