Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines aircraft will depart simultaneously from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, USA on June 21, 2023.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines said that his plan to take over Hawaiian Airlines has received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice after the deadline for antitrust regulators to investigate the deal passed without a lawsuit being filed to block the deal – eight months after the two airlines announced a merger agreement valued at $1.9 billion.
Before the deal can be finalized, the two airlines must obtain approval from the US Department of Transportation. How long this process will take was initially unclear.
The merger would be the largest merger of U.S. airlines since Alaska merged with Virgin America eight years ago.
“The deadline for the U.S. Department of Justice to complete its regulatory investigation of the proposed merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines under the (Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements) Act has passed,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “This is an important milestone in the process of merging our airlines.”
The development comes after the Justice Department obtained a court ruling in January that JetBlue Airways‘ Acquisition of Spirit AirlinesLast year, the Justice Department won another case involving a partnership in the Northeast between JetBlue and American Airlines.
Hawaiian faced numerous challenges in the months leading up to the deal, which the two airlines announced last December, including the Maui wildfires, increasing competition from Southwest Airlines and the slower recovery of travel to and from Asia following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hawaiian has posted net losses in all but one quarter since the start of 2020, but executives have recently said booking trends are improving. Hawaiian’s shares rose nearly 12% this quarter through Monday, while shares of most other airlines fell.
When announcing the deal in December, the two airlines said they would retain their respective brands but operate under a single platform. Together they would have a fleet of more than 360 aircraft flying to over 130 destinations.
The Justice Department and the Transportation Department did not immediately comment on Tuesday.
