Alaska Airlines

Alaska asks FAA to amend its exemption to add Hawaiian's aircraft to its AOC without evacuation demonstrations

Alaska Airlines has essentially requested more time to draw up a plan to demonstrate partial evacuation and ditching procedures.

Alaska Airlines has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption amendment to add Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo, A330, Boeing 717, and 787-9 aircraft without first demonstrating emergency evacuation and ditching procedures.

In a filing, Alaska Airlines has requested an exemption modification from the FAA, which would allow the airline to have more time to draw up a plan for the demonstrations.

The initial exemption request to add Hawaiian Airlines’ A321neo, A330-200 and A330-300, 717, and 787-9s to Alaska Airlines' operating certificate “without first conducting a partial demonstration of emergency evacuation and ditching procedures, subject to the exemption’s conditions and limitations," was approved on May 20, 2025.

The approval came with three conditions: first, Alaska Airlines had to submit a plan to complete the demonstrations to the FAA by January 31, 2026.

The plan had to include a schedule for when they would be done, ensuring that they are completed no later than December 31, 2026.

Second, Alaska Airlines had to make sure that flight crew operating manual revisions, aircraft qualification (AQ), and training qualification records would be updated, “and training qualification records updated prior to commingling flight attendant crewmembers.”

Third, the carrier, which finalized its merger with Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024 and recently acquired a single air operator’s certificate (AOC), had to ensure that flight attendants would not be cross-utilized between the pair’s fleets until partial evacuation and ditching demonstrations are completed on Hawaiian Airlines’ aircraft.

Now, with the latest exemption request amendment, Alaska Airlines has requested that the plan submittal deadline be moved from January 31, 2026, to September 30, 2026, and the completion deadline from December 31, 2026, to March 31, 2027.

According to the airline, its latest request was prompted by the need to complete several items to submit the plan, including the list of qualified flight crew and cabin crew members and the operator’s manual about emergency evacuation and ditching crew duties and procedures.

“Comparable timeframes to comply with the Conditions and Limitations of similar exemptions are reflected in previously granted exemptions,” including the American Airlines and US Airways merger and its own acquisition of Virgin America, the airline said.

On October 29, Alaska Airlines announced that it had received its single operator’s certificate (AOC) from the FAA, which has enabled the carrier to essentially retire Hawaiian Airlines’ call signs, but not its designator code.

While the company promised to keep Hawaiian Airlines’ branding, enabling customers to still book the carrier’s distinct “brand and the ho‘okipa (hospitality),” it said that Hawaiian Airlines’ designator code will be available until April 2026.

Then, both airlines will move to a single passenger service system (PSS), and “all flights will carry the AS code.”

Currently, all Alaska Air Group flights have the Alaska Airlines call sign, comprised of its three-digit ASA designator code and flight number. However, flights operated with Hawaiian Airlines aircraft still carry the carrier’s two-digit HA designator code, which is the flight number, while, for example, flight ASA 804 is the call sign.

ASA 804 is an itinerary from Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that is operated with a Hawaiian Airlines A330-200.