Hawaiian Airlines has named Diana Birkett Rakow as its first female CEO, succeeding Joe Sprague, effective 29 October 2025.
Hawaiian Airlines will have a new chief executive next month with the elevation of Diana Birkett Rakow, currently Alaska Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability.
Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Air Group, said Birkett Rakow brings “a proven record of building strong teams, delivering results, and caring deeply about people and culture” and will be “a tireless advocate for the Hawaiian Airlines brand and people.”
Birkett Rakow will be based in Honolulu, leading the carrier’s local leadership team and overseeing the long-term performance of the Hawaiian Airlines brand and Alaska Air Group’s business in Hawai‘i.
Notably, she will be the first woman to serve as CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. She will continue to report to Minicucci, remain on Alaska Air Group’s Executive Committee, and retain oversight of enterprise sustainability and venture investment strategies.
Sprague was appointed CEO in 2024 to steer Hawaiian through the SOC (Single Operating Certificate) transition with Alaska Air. With that milestone on track, he will retire from the role and remain on the Hawaiian Airlines board.
Sprague said the airline’s strength lies in its deep connection to place and people, and that Birkett Rakow’s long-standing partnership with the Hawai‘i team makes her “the right person to guide Hawaiian Airlines into its next chapter.”
Birkett Rakow said Hawaiian is “a special airline” with a critical purpose to connect the islands and Hawai‘i to the world with safe, reliable service for residents and visitors. She thanked Sprague for “thoughtful leadership” over the past year and said she looks forward to joining the Honolulu leadership team and the airline’s more than 6,600 team members to “build on Hawaiian’s legacy of service” and unlock more benefits from the combination with Alaska Airlines.
What’s Birkett Rakow’s background?
Over the past eight years, Birkett Rakow has engaged extensively with communities in Hawai‘i and Alaska while leading sustainability, government affairs, communications, community and cultural relations, sales and customer engagement, and the airline’s venture arm, Alaska Star Ventures. She has served on the Hawaiian Airlines board over the last year.
Earlier roles include executive positions at Group Health and Kaiser Permanente and a health policy adviser post with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. She holds a chemistry degree from Harvard University and master’s degrees in public health and public administration from the University of Washington. She also serves on several international councils advancing sustainability and clean energy, and is a director of Puget Sound Energy.
How might this matter for the ANZ travel trade?
For Australian and New Zealand partners selling Hawai‘i, the carrier highlights network breadth and loyalty improvements as near-term benefits of integration.
Since the AU$2.85 billion acquisition and merger in 2023, Alaska and Hawaiian teams have expanded to more than 200 daily flights within Hawai‘i, described as the most of any carrier. They also offer nonstop access between Hawai‘i and 22 domestic and international destinations, with connections to 131 cities across North and Central America via Alaska’s network.
Currently, Hawaiian Airlines operates one nonstop route between Honolulu (HNL) and Sydney five times a week. From 18 December 2025 through 31 January 2026, the route will move to daily flights. Read more here.
