With the merger of Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, the company controls nearly half of the passenger air traffic between Hawaiʻi and the continental U.S.
There is a new Alaska-Hawaiian app as the two brands merged passenger reservation systems.
The changes have put HPR in a reflective mood.
The Conversation is delighted to share an interview with the oldest-living former pilot of Hawaiian Airlines.
Gilbert Hicks is 98 years old. He came to Hawaiʻi in 1949 with the U.S. Navy. He spoke with HPR about landing in Keʻehi Lagoon in a Martin Mars flying boat.
Hicks was picked up and taken to Barber’s point – and he says the ride was one he’ll never forget.
"You can imagine those days, it was just a little old two-lane road from the Pearl Harbor area all the way out to Barbers Point, and as you know, sugar was king in those days," Hicks said.
He recalled an early morning drive on July 15, 1949, through tradewind showers and beneath sugar cane tall enough to form a tunnel over the road.
Hicks was assigned to Patrol Squadron VP-22 at Barbers Point, where he flew a PB4Y-2 before joining Hawaiian Airlines the following June.
"The traffic would pick up, and they would hire a few pilots and flight attendants for the summer, and they told you, 'OK, you're on for the summer,ʻ but come Labor Day, you're furloughed," Hicks explained.
He would go on to spend 37 years with the airline.
Initially, Hicks flew interisland routes which included Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.
While flying for Hawaiian, Hicks met Patsy Kanahele, a 1946 Kamehameha Schools graduate, who worked as a flight attendant during her summer breaks from college.
The couple married in 1952 and later watched both their children go into the aviation industry.
“My son is a pilot,” he said. “Well, he's retired from United Continental — merged into United, he's retired now. My daughter was a pilot for Island Air. People who know seniority, she was the number two pilot on their list, and her husband, my son-in-law John, was a pilot with Hawaiian Airlines, now retired.”
Some of Hicks most memorable flights include when a woman unexpectedly went into labor, and a multiweek trip as Hawaiian sought to secure routes through the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Hicks told HPR that he hopes the merger between Alaska and Hawaiian works out.
“I guess the nostalgia would hate to see the Pualani tail disappear entirely,” he said. “I think it's one of the prettiest ones out there. And if you look down at, say, Los Angeles (International Airport), see a whole bunch of airplanes lined up, boy, that one always stands out.”
He added that he had a wonderful career with Hawaiian and considered it a great airline to work for.
"When I grew up as a kid, I just had my eyes in the sky," Hicks said. "All I could think of was being a pilot, and I was fortunate enough that I became one and enjoyed every minute of it."
Editor's note: Hawaiian Airlines is an HPR underwriter.
This story aired on The Conversation on May 19, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
