US regulators approved Alaska Airlines’s $1.9bn (€1.7bn) acquisition of transpacific carrier Hawaiian Airlines last week, paving the way for the North America-only airline to become intercontinental for the first time in its 92-year history (outside of a short-lived 1990s experiment with flights to Russia). The move is a sizable leap for the US’s fourth-largest carrier but not without precedent. Alaska absorbed Virgin America in 2016 with minimal disruption, successfully creating the West Coast’s undisputed king – and giving legacy carriers stiff competition on lucrative nonstop coast-to-coast flights between major hubs such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Still, there are key elements that Alaska’s leadership should pursue as it begins flying across the Pacific.

Arctic Aloha: Alaskan Airlines acquires Hawaiian Airlines

For starters, keeping the Hawaiian brand was a smart move. The frosty 49th state might have joined the Union first but the image of Hawaii’s tropical breezes is more likely to lure flyers unfamiliar with either airline. Air France-KLM, for example, has retained both its individual identities as the French and Dutch flagship carriers while still operating seamlessly. Alaska Airlines should also build up the new Honolulu hub for quick connections. Just as Fiji Airways and Icelandair run transcontinental routes with popular stopovers, the Hawaii hub could do the same for travellers between North America and Australia.

The company should keep Hawaiian’s Airbus planes, too. Headquartered in Seattle, Alaska flies an all-Boeing fleet but recent events have undercut that point of pride. Blind loyalty to the aerospace giant is unwise and diversifying aircraft manufacturers will create more slack when planes break down and parts are difficult to source.

Finally, it should go global but stay local. This merger is an opportunity to showcase Pacific Northwest brands to a global audience. Serve Portland coffee roasters, Oregon craft distilleries and Washington state wineries onboard and in lounges. Continue to let Seattle fashion designer Luly Yang design the uniforms. Even as it begins flying internationally, it needs to retain service to small regional airports that have no alternative.

Gregory Scruggs is Monocle’s Seattle correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.