If you’ve read this site for a long time, you probably know the name Joe Sprague.

I believe I first met Joe in 2011 when I visited Alaska’s headquarters while in Seattle for a conference. Joe was VP of Marketing at the time, and I wrote up our talk about the airline’s marketing strategy. Then in 2017, when he was SVP of External Relations, Joe went along with me on the airline’s famous Milk Run. He had plenty of stories from his days learning to fly in Alaska, and we had a great meal with his friend in Juneau. In 2022, I interviewed him while he was President of Horizon Air. And I talked to him more than once in an official capacity once he slid into the CEO job at Hawaiian after the merger, not to mention sharing a fantastic dinner at one of his favorite haunts in Honolulu last year, Duc’s Bistro.

Now, Joe has called it a career with Alaska. He officially stepped down in the last week of October when he handed the reins of Hawaiian over to Diana Rakow. He then headed back home to the Pacific Northwest, and on his first day of being officially retired, we had a nice, long chat about everything from the early days of his career to his brief hiatus and thoughts about what’s next.

This isn’t your traditional Across the Aisle interview, but it’s certainly one of the more enjoyable ones I’ve done. With everything going on in this industry lately making me want to rip my hair out, consider this a nice break from the insanity. Grab a comfy seat, have a drink, and listen in. This is not a shiny, well-produced podcast, but just a good back-and-forth between two people who have known each other for a long time.

^{(If you can’t see the player, click here to listen.)}

As they say in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana on your retirement, Joe. And as they say in Tlingit, át axwdishée ixwsateení ch’a yóok.