Recently, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department put an end to a planned merger and a relationship between two airlines. This has made people wonder what will happen with Alaska Airlines’ plan to merge with Hawaiian.
Analysts and lawyers are now giving their thoughts on the antitrust case that the merger might lead to.
Because the DOJ stopped the deal between Spirit and JetBlue and the relationship between American Airlines and JetBlue, there are now doubts about the future of Alaska Airlines’ plan to merge with Hawaiian.
But experts say that the problems that derailed the Spirit-JetBlue deal could help Alaska and Hawaiian get approval from regulators or win in court.
Legal experts say that the DOJ’s decision to block the Spirit-JetBlue deal was based on worries that it would make prices go up and give customers fewer options.
The DOJ said that the merger would make the airline business less competitive, which would mean higher prices and fewer choices for customers.
The DOJ also stopped the relationship between American Airlines and JetBlue because they were worried that it would hurt competition and cause prices to go up for customers.
Experts say that the DOJ’s decisions in these cases could show how officials or the courts might feel about Alaska Airlines’ plan to merge with Hawaiian.
Legal experts say that showing that the merger won’t hurt competition or make prices go up for consumers will be very important in getting it approved by regulators.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airline want to join, but they both fly to a lot of the same places, which could be a problem. People might worry that this will mean less competition and higher prices for them. A lot of people say that the two carriers could fix these problems, though.
One thing the airlines could say is that the merger will let them provide more trips and better customer service. They could also say that the merger would make it easier for them to compete with bigger companies like Delta and American.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian have different ways of running their businesses, which could also be a problem for the merger. Hawaii is known for its high prices and fancy service, while Alaska is known for its cheap prices and simple service. Experts, on the other hand, say that these differences could help the companies.
Henry Harteveldt, an airline expert, says, “The fact that Alaska and Hawaiian have different ways of making money could be a good thing.” It might let them give customers more choices, from cheap to expensive service.
Overall, experts say that officials and maybe even the courts will look closely at Alaska Airlines’ plan to merge with Hawaiian. But they also say that the airlines could do something about the worries about less competition and higher prices for fliers.
As the airline industry continues to join, it is more important than ever for airlines to show that their mergers won’t hurt customers. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian may be able to do so, but only time will tell.
However, experts say that the DOJ’s recent decisions give them a good idea of what they will need to do to get along with regulators and the courts.