Alaska Air completes Virgin America acquisition

Alaska Air Group said Wednesday it completed its $2.6b acquisition of Virgin America Inc to become the fifth-largest US carrier. The four big US airlines by passenger traffic are American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, United Airlines Inc and Southwest Airlines Co, following years of consolidation within the industry and carrier mergers. Last week, Alaska Air won US antitrust approval for its acquisition of Virgin America on the condition that it would scale back its code-sharing with American Airlines. Under the settlement with the Justice Department, the companies would be banned from code-sharing on routes where Virgin and American Airlines now compete. Code-sharing is also barred on routes that Alaska might start in the future if American also flies them. CFRA Research analyst Jim Corridore said Alaska's acquisition of the cost-sensitive California-based carrier would probably lead to higher fares for consumers in the long run.<br/>