Alaska Air Group has recently appointed the first female CEO for one of the major aviation companies, Hawaiian Airlines. Diana Birkett Rakow is going to be the new CEO, and she will also be the first female CEO appointed to the Hawaiian Airlines CEO post. She will start her tenure on the 29th of October 2025. She is replacing Joe Sprague, who was considered the best leader, and he has also put Hawaiian Airlines on great heights. 

It is considered that Diana Birkett Rakow is the best choice as she has been serving Alaska Airlines for a long time and she has a lot of experience in the aviation industry. 

Who Is Diana Birkett Rakow?

Diana Birkett Rakow has a lot of experience in the aviation market. She holds a blend of corporate responsibility, public affairs, sustainability, and community engagement:

• She has been working with Alaska Airlines for the last 8 years, where she has led areas like public affairs, sustainability, communications, and community/ cultural relations. 
• She has been working in all these sectors for Hawaiian airlines as well as other jurisdictions of the Alaska Air Group. 
• She has also looked over the venture investment strategies for the Alaska Air Group. 
• She will continue to report to the CEO of Alaska Air Group and will remain a part of the company's executive community. 

Diana Birkett Rakow is going to operate from her base in Honolulu. It is the second largest base operated by Hawaiian Airlines, Seattle being the first in terms of corporate or geographic importance spectrum along the Alaska/Hawaiian network. 

Background: Acquisition & Integration

With the help of these transition details, you will understand where the airlines feel right now and how they feel under the Alaska group: 

• Alaska Air Group performed the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024; Alaska invested $1.9 billion into this acquisition.
• Since then, they had only one mission to integrate the operation of both airlines, and this was made happen by the old CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. 
• Joe Sprague has completed the procedure to get the single operating certificate (SOC) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the certificate will arrive in the upcoming month. Through which both Alaska and Hawaiian will operate as one airlines and it will increase the efficiency and simplify the airlines operations. 

Joe Sprague was appointed CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, and he has been guiding the company through this transitional phase.

Leadership as a Sunrise

A CEO change usually makes the news and fades. But it feels like the change in CEO of Hawaiian Airlines will be a totally different experience. On the 10th September, airlines released a press report where they mentioned the choice of their new CEO. On the 29th October 2025, Diana Birkett Rakow will take over the role of CEO. She will become the first woman in Hawaiian Airlines’ history to lead from the top.

She follows Joe Sprague, who is not simply leaving but landing his career with grace. His years at Hawaiian were marked by calm, steady guidance through a merger with Alaska Airlines and regulatory milestones that secured the airline’s next era.

Sprague’s Gentle Landing

Since 2019, Sprague has been a quiet architect. He guided Hawaiian through turbulence, built bridges with Alaska Airlines, and helped secure FAA approval for a combined carrier. Now, with the heavy lifting complete, he steps down not in crisis but in completion.

He will stay connected as a member of the Board of Directors — less a farewell, more a handoff. His watch may end, but his influence remains.

Rakow: Leadership Beyond the Runway

Rakow is no stranger to aviation. At Alaska Airlines, she turned sustainability into a strategy and made community engagement more than a talking point. She treated company culture as a compass, not a tagline.

Now she takes the controls of Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu. But this role is about more than balancing schedules and spreadsheets. Hawaiian is a lifeline: a symbol of belonging, a bridge between islands, and the first face of aloha for visitors.

Her vision is clear — grow the airline without losing its roots.

Hawaiian Airlines: More Than Numbers

The 2023 Alaska-Hawaiian merger expanded the network to more than 200 daily flights and rolled out a combined loyalty program. Yet Hawaiian Airlines’ essence isn’t in numbers. It lives in:

• Cargo deliveries that sustain families on outer islands.
• Visitors who feel Hawai‘i’s welcome the moment they board.
• Employees who see their work as legacy, not just labor.

Rakow’s challenge is to expand without silencing that heartbeat.

Applause Across the Industry

Industry leaders quickly backed her appointment.

• Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Air Group, praised her as “a results-driven leader with deep respect for people and culture.”
• Kūhiō Lewis, CEO of the Hawaiian Council, called her “a hands-on problem solver” and said she will help Hawaiians “soar higher.”

Their words frame Rakow not as a successor but as a new navigator for a living story.

More Than a Leadership Shift

This transition carries meaning far beyond the corporate world. It is:

• A cultural milestone — the airline’s first woman CEO.
• A symbolic choice — showing leadership built on purpose, not just profit.
• A new horizon — where growth, values, and sustainability share the flight path.

The Flight Ahead

Hawaiian Airlines has always carried more than passengers. It carries heritage, community, and hope. With Joe Sprague’s chapter closing and Diana Birkett Rakow’s beginning, the airline isn’t only changing leaders.

It is rewriting its story. A story where the skies ahead are guided not just by engines and flight plans, but by vision, values, and the enduring spirit of Hawai‘i.