Hawaiian, Virgin America Announce Frequent Flyer Partnership, Code Share Agreement

HawaiianMiles Members Can Now Earn, Redeem Miles for Travel on Virgin America

Virgin America Elevate Members Benefit with Travel Rewards on Hawaiian

News provided by

Nov 15, 2012, 08:00 ET

HONOLULU and SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin America, two award-winning U.S. airlines, today announced new cooperative marketing agreements that expand the reach of their respective networks and provide a range of new travel benefits for their customers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20040827/LAF044LOGO)

Starting today, members of HawaiianMiles, the Hawaiian Airlines loyalty program, are able to redeem their miles for award travel on all Virgin America routes, and members of Virgin America's Elevate® frequent flyer program can now redeem Elevate points for flights on all routes flown by Hawaiian.

The two airlines also announced that Hawaiian Airlines has placed its two-letter booking code on Virgin America flights to Boston, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C. (IAD); New York (JFK); Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Chicago; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Seattle and San Francisco. This agreement, only the second code share agreement for California-based Virgin America, now offers seamless booking and one-stop check-in on a single ticket for guests traveling between Hawai'i and multiple Virgin America destinations in the U.S.

"Through this new partnership with Virgin America, HawaiianMiles members have convenient access to a host of new cities across the country with high quality service throughout their journey," said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. "We look forward to sharing our island hospitality with all of Virgin America's Elevate members and welcoming new guests from cities we do not serve directly today."

Under the code share agreement, travelers can purchase tickets on Hawaiian's website at www.HawaiianAirlines.com, through its Reservations call center at 1-800-367-5320, from a travel agent or via online travel agencies. Both Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin America will check bags through to guests' final destinations and will issue boarding passes at initial check in for connecting flights on Virgin America and Hawaiian. HawaiianMiles members are able to earn mileage on all code share flights covered by the agreement.

"This agreement enables us to offer guests a seamless travel experience as they travel on our two airlines – between us, we've won countless travel awards for excellent guest service – and our Virgin America teammates look forward to welcoming Hawaiian Airlines guests onboard our flights," said John MacLeod, Virgin America's senior vice president for planning and sales. "The addition of Hawaiian to our roster of partners is a very special Virgin America 'mahalo' for our loyal Elevate members, who can now redeem points for Hawaiian reward travel. Our guests have been asking us for a way to get to the Aloha State since our launch, and we were listening."

Hawaiian is the third airline partner added to join Virgin America's Elevate program and the first Elevate airline partner outside the Virgin airline family – Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia were already Elevate partners. The linkup will make it possible for Elevate members to fly to Hawai'i for as low as 20,000 Elevate reward points.* Elevate members may now start booking on Hawaiian by calling Virgin America 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN (1.877.359.8474).

Earlier this year, Virgin America rolled out enhancements to its Elevate frequent flyer program – including Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver status levels that offer perks such as: priority check-in, security clearance and boarding; points earning bonuses; free checked bag allowances; enhanced digital/social rewards; private discounts; an expanded advance purchase upgrade window for the airline's exclusive eight-seat First Class; complimentary space-available upgrades to the carrier's premium Main Cabin Select service; and complimentary access to the best seat assignments within Main Cabin.

*Terms & conditions: All redemptions are Reward Seats, subject to availability and to the Elevate Terms and Conditions. Reward bookings are not eligible to earn points. Point levels are based on an adult booking. Infant redemption bookings are not permitted. 20,000 point level is from the West Coast cities served by Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu in the Coach cabin. $5 taxes and fee apply.

About Hawaiian Airlines: Hawaiian has led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past eight years (2004-2011) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the highest of all domestic airlines serving Hawai'i. Now in its 84^th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawai'i's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service from its primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawai'i from more U.S. gateway cities (11) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. New nonstop service will begin between Honolulu and Brisbane, Australia (November 27, 2012), and Auckland, New Zealand (March 13, 2013). Hawaiian also provides approximately 170 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow updates on Twitter about Hawaiian (@HawaiianAir) and its special fare offers (@HawaiianFares), and become a fan on its Facebook page (Hawaiian Airlines).

About Virgin America: Headquartered in California, Virgin America offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel. Virgin America was named "Best Domestic Airline" in the Conde Nast Traveler 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 'Readers' Choice' Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 'World's Best' Awards. The airline's base of operations is SFO's sleek new Terminal 2. The airline's new aircraft offer interactive in-flight entertainment systems and power outlets near every seat. Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. (IAD), Seattle, Las Vegas San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas Fort-Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs (seasonally), Philadelphia, Portland and Washington D.C.'s Reagan National (DCA).For more, visit: www.virginamerica.com/. For more information on Virgin America's code share and interline partners, please visit: http://www.virginamerica.com/travel/virgin-partners.html