Alaska Airlines completes $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian

Alaska Airlines said on Wednesday it had completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Alaska Airlines said on Wednesday it had completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The airlines on Tuesday agreed to maintain key Hawaiian routes and adopt consumer protections under an agreement that will last six years. The Justice Department in August chose not to block the deal that was announced in December by Alaska, the fifth-largest domestic U.S. airline, to merge with Hawaiian, the 10th-largest carrier. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said in an interview that the deal would be good for competition and consumers and would expand access for consumers to both networks and give Alaska access to Hawaiian’s fleet of wide-body airplanes. “It’s just a few more arrows in our quiver on how we deploy airplanes across our entire network,” Minicucci said. “Putting the right airplane in the right market to deliver the best results for the combined entity.” Minicucci said the airline expects to deliver at least $235 million in run-rate synergies by year three.