- Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines still need approval from the Department of Transportation to complete the deal
- The Justice Department’s deadline to complete its investigation into the deal expired Tuesday without a lawsuit being filed to block the deal.
Alaska Airlines said the U.S. Department of Justice had approved its plans to acquire Hawaiian Airlines, passing the deadline for the antitrust investigation without a lawsuit blocking the deal, eight months after the two airlines announced a $1.9 billion merger agreement, it said.
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.”
This development comes after the Justice Department secured a court ruling in January that blocked JetBlue Airways’ acquisition of Spirit Airlines. Last year, the Justice Department won another court case that ended a partnership between JetBlue and American Airlines in the Northeast.
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.
