Examined: Alaska Airlines' limited Hawaiian network from its Anchorage hub

Amid the headline merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which is set to alter the industry's organization significantly, many questions have been raised about how this merger could potentially impact competition that might result in higher ticket prices for passengers.

Fortunately, with Alaska Airlines being primarily a domestic-oriented carrier with bases along the West Coast and Hawaiian Airlines being a de-facto flag carrier for the Hawaiian Islands, there are relatively few places where these two carriers' route networks overlap.

The only places where both Alaska and Hawaiian are offering competing services are on a handful of routes from the American West Coast to the state of Hawaii, routes which are limited in numbers.

As a result, the regulatory bodies that have evaluated and appear to be providing the appropriate approvals for the merger likely believe that the potential benefits this merger could offer passengers and the industry as a whole far outweigh their relative costs.

There is one unique market where Alaska Airlines actually serves Hawaii to some extent but faces limited competition from Hawaiian Airlines, resulting in no significant change to the consumer landscape whatsoever.

Alaska, the nation's coldest state, is connected directly to the sunny vacation destination of Hawaii by a handful of nonstop flights, all of which are operated by Alaska Airlines, which flew its very first services in the 1930s in the state. Let's take a deeper look at Alaska Airlines' network connecting Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) to multiple destinations in the state of Hawaii.

The airline operates three unique routes from Anchorage to Hawaii

There is likely no other airline that would attempt to offer services between Anchorage and Hawaii, as having to compete with Alaska Airlines, which has such a historic reputation within the state, on such a high-demand leisure route would be difficult.

Most legacy carriers only serve one or two of their hubs from Anchorage whatsoever, with most ramping up during the popular summer peak travel season.

Alaska Airlines, however, serves more than a dozen cities from its Anchorage hub and ramps up operations significantly during the summer months. The carrier also offers nonstop flights to three different cities in Hawaii from the largest city in Alaska, and they are as follows:

• Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu
• Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) at Keahole on Hawaii's biggest island
• Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) to Kahului Airport (OGG) on Maui

While the airline's flights to Maui and the Big Island are only operated during the peak travel seasons, the airline serves Hawaii year-round, even during the lower-demand summer and Autumn months.

Each of these flights is served by an aircraft from the Boeing 737 family, which makes up the backbone of the airline's fleet. The fact that Alaska Airlines can routinely fill a daily flight to Hawaii even during the lowest-demand months demonstrates a level of cultural and economic interconnectivity between the two states that is often overlooked. Let's take a deeper look at each route individually.

Route breakdown: Anchorage to Honolulu

According to data from aviation analytics website Cirium, this route is the busiest and most popular of Alaska's three services from Anchorage to Hawaii. This route is also set to become even more important once Alaska has fully merged with Hawaiian, as it will now give passengers the option to seamlessly connect to Hawaiian Airlines flights to destinations across the Hawaiian Islands. The flights operate daily, with the following schedule:

Route breakdown: Anchorage to Kona

Alaska Airlines operates this nonstop route to Hawaii only a few days per week, demonstrating significantly weaker demand in comparison to the Honolulu route. However, it does offer passengers a convenient way to get to and from the Big Island, without having to deal with the annoyance of a layover either in Hawaii or at a different place within the airline's West Coast-oriented network.

Route breakdown: Anchorage to Kahului

Alaska Airlines' nonstop route from Anchorage to Maui is operated just once per week, with the carrier targeting leisure travelers willing to orient their journeys around Saturday flights. This service's statistics, as previously noted, are only for peak-season operations.

So what's the bottom line here?

At the end of the day, Alaska's unique Hawaii network offers Alaska's residents the opportunity to visit Hawaii without the inconvenience of stopping somewhere else along the way, a premium that many will pay for. Furthermore, the airline can capture some reverse direction demand, providing a quick link for Hawaiians looking to escape the summer heat with an Alaskan getaway.