Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger clears regulatory hurdle, will now be reviewed by DOT

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines just took one step closer to a merger, according to statements sent out on Monday. The deal cleared a regulatory obstacle when "the time period for the U.S. Department of Justice to complete its regulatory investigation of the proposed combination of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines under the HSR Act" expired, Alaska Airlines said in a statement on its website. The announcement boosted shares of Hawaiian by nearly 9% in premarket trade on Tuesday, while Alaska's sh ...