Justice Department clears Alaska Air Group's acquisition of Virgin America

On December 7., the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) completed its review and approved Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Virgin America. Alaska Air Group is the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Industries. Alaska was not required to divest any assets as a condition of DOJ clearance. Alaska did agree to implement limited changes to its codeshare agreement with American Airlines.The majority of Alaska and American codeshare flights will remain intact. The DOJ did not require changes to any other agreements between Alaska and American, including interline or reciprocal loyalty agreements, or any of Alaska’s other airline partnerships. The company plans to close the transaction in the very near future.