The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) did not give Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines an unconditional final approval to combine. On September 17, 2024, DOT granted an exemption that allowed the transaction to close while the agency considered a separate application to transfer international route authorities. The airlines had to remain separate and independently operated until DOT ruled on that application. DOT also secured enforceable commitments covering loyalty rewards, service, airport access and other traveler protections.
What did DOT approve?
DOT’s September 17, 2024 action was a conditional exemption, not a final ruling on the transfer of international operating authorities. The exemption let the deal close while DOT’s review of that transfer application continued, on the condition that Alaska and Hawaiian remain separate and independently operated in the interim. DOT describes its role in airline acquisitions as including review of international operating-authority transfers under its own statutory criteria: DOT’s mergers and acquisitions overview.
The merger agreement identifies Alaska Air Group, Inc. as the parent of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. as the parent of Hawaiian Airlines, and describes Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings. The official DOT materials cited here do not substantiate the $1.9 billion figure in the deal’s headline coverage, so it should not be treated as verified by those materials.
DOT’s exemption and route-transfer process are also distinct from antitrust enforcement. The DOT action described here should not be read as a finding by the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the merger’s competitive effects.
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What protections apply to travelers?
DOT’s announcement lists specific public-interest commitments. The merger agreement, posted on DOT’s site and last updated there June 17, 2025, supplies additional terms and exceptions. The commitments are not a forecast of fares or a guarantee that every route will remain unchanged.
Loyalty miles and status
- HawaiianMiles and Alaska Mileage Plan miles could be transferred at a 1:1 ratio before the new loyalty program, and outstanding miles were to convert at 1:1.
- DOT said pre-conversion miles would have no expiration and that the commitments protect against devaluation.
- The commitments include status matching between the programs.
- For rewards tickets on flights operated by either carrier, the commitments bar changes or cancellation fees.
These terms address miles and rewards bookings; they do not, by themselves, specify every future feature or rule of a combined loyalty program. See DOT’s September 17, 2024 announcement for the protections it listed.
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Hawaii routes and overlapping service
The commitments require robust service levels on critical Hawaiian inter-island passenger and cargo services and key Hawaii–continental U.S. routes that DOT identified as at risk of losing competition. For specified nonstop overlap routes, the agreement sets a minimum capacity commitment: the combined carrier was to schedule with intent to operate at least 90% of the flights or seats operated on that route in the year-to-date period through August 31, 2024. That contractual benchmark is subject to the agreement’s exceptions and terms; it is not a general promise to preserve every flight or seat on every route.
Rural communities and Honolulu airport access
The commitments include continued support for Essential Air Service in rural Alaska and Hawaii. They also require nondiscriminatory access to Honolulu airport infrastructure for new entrants and smaller competitors.
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Families, disrupted travelers and military households
- For a child age 13 or younger traveling with an accompanying adult, the commitments provide for adjacent seating.
- After specified controllable disruptions, the commitments provide alternative compensation.
- Service members and accompanying family members receive specified fee waivers or baggage allowances.
The announcement describes these protections at a high level. For the conditions and scope of each commitment, consult the DOT announcement and the merger agreement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How long do the commitments last?
DOT’s 2024 announcement said the protections would remain in effect for six years if the international route transfer were approved. The agreement specifies that the six-year term begins at closing, but the commitments have no effect if DOT denies the requested transfer of international route authorities. The agreement’s particular obligations and exceptions govern how that term applies.
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What the action does not establish
- It does not, by itself, establish that DOT finally approved the transfer of international route authorities.
- The official materials cited here do not establish the final disposition of that separate application.
- It does not establish a market-wide change in fares or a quantified consumer benefit. DOT’s listed commitments should not be translated into a numerical prediction about ticket prices or competition.
- The DOT exemption should not be conflated with DOJ antitrust review.
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