Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines planes take off at the same time from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, the United States, June 21, 2023.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines He said his plan is to acquire Hawaiian Airlines has been approved by the U.S. Justice Department after the period for antitrust regulators to finalize an investigation into the deal ended without a lawsuit to block the deal, eight months after the two companies announced a $1.9 billion agreement to merge.
The two airlines now have to get approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation before closing the deal. It was not immediately clear how long that process will take.
The combination 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 combination of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines under the [Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements] “The law has expired,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “This is an important milestone in our airlines' accession process.”
The development comes after the Justice Department won a court ruling in January that blocked JetBlue Airlines' acquisition of Spirit AirlinesLast year, the Justice Department won another lawsuit that unraveled a partnership in the Northeast between JetBlue and American Airlines.
Hawaiian had faced a number of challenges in the months leading up to the deal, which the two airlines announced last December, including the Maui wildfires, increased 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 shares are up nearly 12% this quarter, through Monday, while shares of most other airlines have fallen.
The two airlines said in December, when they announced the deal, that they would retain each airline's branding but operate under a single platform, combining into a fleet of more than 360 aircraft serving more than 130 destinations.
The Justice Department and the Department of Transportation did not immediately comment Tuesday.
