The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday gave approval for Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Virgin America, a deal that will create the nation’s fifth-largest airline.
Alaska beat out JetBlue Airways in a bidding war for Virgin America, agreeing to pay $2.6 billion for the Burlingame, Calif.-based Virgin America.
The DOJ will require Alaska to implement limited changes to its codeshare agreement with American Airlines, but the Seattle-based carrier said the majority of its codeshare flights with American 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.
Alaska was not required to divest any assets as a condition of DOJ clearance.
“We couldn’t be more excited about receiving DOJ clearance for our merger with Virgin America,” said Alaska Air Group Chairman and CEO Brad Tilden. “With this combination now cleared for takeoff, we’re thrilled to bring these two companies together and start delivering our low fares and great service to an even larger group of customers.”
Alaska officials have not said whether the company will absorb Virgin into the Alaska brand or whether they will operate as separate entities.
