Spotlight Now: Hawaiian Airlines CEO, softening tourism in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaiian Airlines’ CEO says 2026 will be a smoother year for customers.

Diana Birkett Rakow has been on the job for two months.

She acknowledges that the Alaska/Hawaiian merger brought real challenges for travelers.

“We have put a lot of change into the system, and so I just want to be honest about that. We’ve put a lot change into the system that impacts our employees, our guests, that impacts our technology,” she told Spotlight Now.

“And especially this fall was really hard time, a lot of change all at once. So 2026 is all about kind of bringing those changes to a point of a little more stability,” she added.

Part of that stability will be merging the two airlines’ ticketing systems, which should happen in the next few months. That change should make a lot of technology run smoother.

The airline recently announced its $600 million Kahuʻewai Hawaiʻi Investment Plan, which will impact nearly every stage of travel, from airport lounges and gate areas to aircraft interiors and digital tools, with projects rolling out statewide through 2029.

Birkett Rakow wants to reassure the public that the hometown airline isn’t going anywhere.

“Hawaiian Airlines is here to stay. Pualani is here to stay. So let’s be really clear about that. The employees represent the brand so incredibly well, and as I said before Hawaiian Airlines being here to stay doesn’t just mean the visual representation. Those are important things, but those are the things that back up and lift up employees and how they bring that to life,” she said.

“Another thing is the rootedness in place, and that’s another thing that I know our employees and our guests will hold us accountable for, is accurately reflecting and elevating Hawaii, investing here and making sure that we carry that spirit with us as we travel.”

Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau president and CEO

Hawaii is experiencing a softening tourism market with fewer visitors, more competition, and travelers watching their budgets.

Dr. Aaron Sala, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) president and CEO, says it’s a global trend.

“Right now, where we are is the new up,” Sala said. “That tourism increase is something that isn’t happening around the world. People are not traveling like they used to travel, and so what we’re seeing is that, per the state sort of directive, higher spend travelers who are coming and not as many travelers as we’ve seen in the past.”

Sala says that’s good news for the state, but not for the industry.

“It doesn’t necessarily sustain a workforce, so what we’re trying to do is find that balance,” he said. “What we have to figure out is as we go toward what we call at HVCB the Hawaii target traveler, what kind of travel? How many travelers are coming? What is our goal for their spend here in a very tactical and controllable way?”

HVCB recently launched a campaign, “Hawaii Stays With You,” to reflect every visitor’s story as they engage with the people and land here in the islands.

“The goal then is that that experience here profoundly affects and impacts the way they see themselves in the world, and ‘Hawaii Stays With You’ is an opportunity for us to start to engage in that next chapter,” Sala said.

Community Spotlight: Hawaii Pacific Health Women’s 10K & 5K Fun Run

The Hawaii Pacific Health Women’s 10K & 5K Fun Run takes place Jan. 25, the only all-female sanctioned race in Hawaii.

“It embodies female empowerment. It promotes women’s health and fitness, and it welcomes participants of all different running backgrounds,” said Catherine Chang, a physical therapist at Straub Benioff Medical Center.

Chang participated in the 10K in 2024. She finished with the fastest employee time and received the Martha B. Smith Award.

Learn more and register here.