Now, it is going to be adding a lot back again. Alaska just sold off its last Airbus aircraft.However, there are aspects of the deal that many will be thinking about: Volume is your friend if you run an airline. Driving down seat costs is crucial to stay in business. And for the same reasons, JetBlue/Spirit does. From this point of view, the deal makes sense. Fewer choices are just that.īut the other side of this deal is industry-focused. Is this good for the consumer? Probably not – consolidation never is.

Both Hawaiian and Alaska benefit from the deal in that respect. That Alaska needs to grow is clear – this is an economy-of-scale business. Given the US DOJ’s views on JetBlue’s deal with American and the JetBlue/Spirit deal, you would be right to pause. Now comes the real challenge – the deal requires regulatory approval. The deal should take between 12 to 18 months to close. You can read about the Alaska side of the deal here. This will push Alaska Airlines into the fifth largest airline in US service with 365 aircraft. News has just emerged that Alaska Airlines group struck a deal with Hawaiian at $18/share, worth about $1.9Bn.

Boeing 777 300 garuda seat map