HONOLULU (KHON2) -- In earlier statements, Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines said that no union employees would lose their jobs in the merger. Check out what's going on around the nation on our National News page Operations will continue as the two separate airlines will be under one organization until Alaska Airlines closes the transaction and obtains a single operating certificate from the FAA. Travelers excited about the potential for Hawaiian-Alaska airline merger Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines pilots are both represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. Captain Will McQuillen, chair of ALPA Alaska Airlines and Captain Larry Payne, chair of ALPA Hawaiian Airlines, said in a joint statement, that they are "optimistic about the potential benefits this merger may have for our combined 4,600 pilots. A larger, more competitive, and financially stronger airline will enhance our ability to support employee careers and grow labor-represented jobs for decades to come." Airline expert and former pilot, Peter Forman, agrees that this merger puts employees in a better position. "You have to have some elimination of overlap because otherwise, you don't get the advantages of a merger. But that said, there's enough stated protections in there that Hawaiian employees are going to do fine in the long term," said Forman. Merger moves forward as Alaska-Hawaiian granted exemption A single operating certificate is a lengthy, six-phase process that combines the operations of two airlines under one set of rules and standards, such as flight scheduling and maintenance. The FAA issues the certificate once the airline demonstrates it will operate at the highest levels of safety. "Hawaiian has a lot of big airplanes on long-distance routes with a lot of ETOPS and things like that and Alaska isn't going to be able to match it right off the bat. So I think we're going to still see two certificates in use for a while," said Forman. Hawaiian's president and CEO, Peter Ingram, will be stepping down once the transactions closes. Check out more news from around Hawaii Current Alaska Airlines Regional President of Hawaii/Pacific, Joe Sprague, will take over as CEO of Hawaiian Airlines and will oversee a Hawaiian Airlines interim leadership team until the single operating certificate is granted.