Alaska Airlines released a statement from the Governor of Hawaii, Josh Green announcing that the proposed merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines had cleared a major regulatory hurdle.
The time period for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to complete its regulatory investigation of the proposed combination of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines under the HSR Act has expired without any action being taken. The proposed merger still remains subject to the receipt of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s approval of an interim exemption application.
In the statement released by Alaska, the airline stated the following:
“This is a significant milestone in the process to join our airlines. During the DOJ’s review, Alaska worked closely with the Hawai‘i Attorney General to reinforce and expand upon our commitments for the future of Hawaiian Airlines and to Hawai‘i consumers. These include plans to maintain the Hawaiian Airlines brand and local jobs and continue providing strong service between, to, and from the Islands.”
The proposed merger still remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of an interim exemption application.
Once that has been completed, the airline will work to close the transaction, and proceed with integrating the two companies. According to Alaska, the Seattle based carrier is looking forward to welcoming Hawaiian Airlines guests and employees into Alaska Air Group, and expanding benefits and choice for consumers throughout Hawai‘i, the Asia-Pacific region, continental United States and globally.
Summary
The proposed merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines has cleared its first major regulatory hurdle. The USDOJ’s regulatory investigation of the proposed merger has concluded without any action being taken, paving the way for the merger to move forward.
Alaska Air Group has committed to operating Hawaiian as a standalone carrier from Alaska Airlines but I’m curious to see how they try and integrate things for passengers. Could we see Hawaiian join OneWorld or have Alaska start widebody flights using Hawaiian’s 787’s and A330s?
It will also be interesting to see how Alaska Air Group will handle the two carriers’ fleets as Alaska exclusively operates the Boeing 737 while Hawaiian flies a mixture of narrowbody and widebody Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
(Images courtesy Alaska Airlines)
