Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian may enter into merger agreement, says DOT

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it had allowed Alaska Airlines to complete its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines after the airlines agreed to maintain their core routes to Hawaii and implement consumer protections.

The Justice Department decided in August not to block the deal announced in December by Alaska, the fifth-largest U.S. airline, with Hawaiian, the 10th-largest carrier. The airlines said Tuesday that they plan to close the deal in the next few days.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Alaska and Hawaiian agreed to protect the value of frequent flyer awards, maintain existing service on Hawaii's major routes to the continental United States and the islands, ensure competitive access to Honolulu Airport and provide travel credits or frequent flyer miles for disruptions caused by the airline.

The agreement followed weeks of discussions between Alaska and the U.S. Department of Transportation, which had called for far-reaching concessions that went beyond the agreement announced on Tuesday.

Alaska said Tuesday that the commitments are consistent with plans the company announced when the deal was signed. “They do not impact the synergies of the deal, which will increase competition and expand choice for consumers.”

Airlines must ensure that customers can transfer miles without penalty and that the merged airline cannot devalue HawaiianMiles miles, and must maintain or increase HawaiianMiles members' status in Alaska's Mileage Plan program.