Skift

Episode Notes Alaska Air Group said it would buy Hawaiian Airlines in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.9 billion, including Hawaiian’s debt. The parent company of Alaska Airlines and regional Horizon Air said it would continue to operate Hawaiian as an independent brand, reports Edward Russell, editor of Skift publication Airline Weekly.  The proposed merger isn’t a sure thing, given that it faces antitrust review by the Biden Administration. Analysts noted that JetBlue recently attempted to merge with Spirit Airlines, but that deal has since been mired in legal review.  Given that the route networks of Alaska and Hawaiian wouldn’t lead to the same concentration as the networks of JetBlue and Spirit, the probability is higher that the Alaska-Hawaiian deal will go through, reports Russell. Next, the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and American Airlines are going head-to-head in a complaint before the U.S. Department of Transport (DOT).  The debate hinges on whether American Airlines has been wro