Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci was all smiles as he made the media rounds Monday with his new partner, the CEO of Hawaiian Holdings — the two in coordinated aloha shirts. Alaska said Sunday it would buy Hawaiian for $1.9b. The deal, code named project Triggerfish for Hawaii’s state fish, was the culmination of six months of negotiations between the two men as Minicucci looks to grow Alaska Air. While the market hasn’t warmed to an acquisition that faces tough antitrust scrutiny — Alaska’s stock dropped 14% in Monday trading — Minicucci isn’t afraid of a fight. An Alaska Air spokesperson confirmed the project code name, but declined to comment further. The representative didn’t make Minicucci available for an interview. A representative for Hawaiian didn’t respond to a request for comment. The 57-year-old Montreal native is described by people who’ve worked with him as an iron fist in a silk glove. An avid cyclist who practices transcendental meditation, Minicucci has a laser focus on details. He frequently told subordinates during negotiations about his working-class background and that he’s more than willing to engage in a "street fight” if required, to get results, said people familiar with the matter. Minicucci is a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Both sides of his personality were on display during takeover discussions with Hawaiian. Minicucci conducted most of the talks in person in Honolulu, charming Hawaiian CEO Peter Ingram and his team. He assured them he wanted to retain the brand, Hawaiian’s interisland service and its status as a state champion. Meanwhile, in an unusual maneuver, he dropped the purchase price during talks in an attempt to get the best value, people familiar with the deal said. That’s the reverse of how typical merger and acquisition talks tend to go. Buyers usually leave wiggle room for sellers to negotiate up. For Hawaiian, the move wasn’t warmly received, the people said. Still, Minicucci prevailed. Hawaiian has struggled to recover from a slow rebound in tourism from Asia to Hawaii and lower demand after the state’s wildfires in August.<br/>
oneworld
Alaska Air Group’s executives spent months working on its plan to buy rival Hawaiian Airlines. The airlines’ leaders will now spend many more trying to convince regulators the acquisition should go ahead. It could be the latest in a string of challenges brought by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department against airline deals it views as anticompetitive. The $1.9b cash and debt deal, announced Sunday, comes less than a year after the Justice Department sued to block another deal: JetBlue Airways’ $3.8b cash acquisition of budget carrier Spirit Airlines. The Justice Department argued that the purchase of Spirit would harm consumers in the form of higher fares if the budget airline is absorbed by JetBlue. Earlier this year, the Justice Department successfully broke up JetBlue’s partnership with American Airlines in the US Northeast. In both that limited alliance and the Spirit acquisition, JetBlue argued it needed to team up to better compete with larger rivals, and grow, when planes and pilots are in short supply. More than a decade of airline mergers left four airlines — American, Delta, Southwest and United — in control of around 80% of U.S. airline capacity. Alaska has a more than 5% share of US airlines’ capacity and Hawaiian has a less than 2% share, according to Cirium data. The Alaska-Hawaiian deal comes as Hawaiian has faced a host of challenges including like the Maui wildfires, increased competition in Hawaii from Southwest and a slower recovery of some long-haul Asia routes. The Alaska-Hawaiian and JetBlue-Spirit deals are different in approach, but the Alaska acquisition could still face hurdles with regulators. For example, JetBlue plans to remodel Spirit’s tightly packed yellow planes to take out seats and bring on board more amenities like seat-back screens, while getting rid of the Spirit brand and model entirely. Alaska, meanwhile, said it plans to keep separate Hawaiian and Alaska brands, two carriers that are key to the far-flung states they serve.<br/>
Large airlines such as British Airways and EasyJet Plc could lose control over lucrative takeoff and landing slots at UK airports, as the government overhauls the way it allocates capacity at major hubs like London Heathrow. The UK’s Department for Transport said Monday it is weighing reforms including how it manages slot capacity and allocates it to airlines. The aim is to restrict the leasing out of slots by major airlines monopolizing capacity at so-called Level 3 airports like London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted hubs. Unused slots could then be allocated to other airlines which are smaller, newer and may offer lower prices, the DfT said. Airport slots can be priced at tens of millions of pounds in the UK. BA, a unit of IAG SA, is the biggest tenant at Heathrow, while EasyJet dominates Gatwick and Ryanair Holdings Plc at Stansted. A boom in travel demand since the pandemic has meant airport slots have become increasingly hard to come by. The DfT said the reforms could generate heightened market competition, affordable flights and better journeys. Anthony Browne, the UK’s aviation minister, said in the statement the consultation will help to “end monopolies within the slot regime” and encourage healthy competition between carriers.<br/>
El Al Airlines announced Friday that it will be making adjustments to its flight schedule on active routes due to the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. The company is following domestic security guidelines as well as travel warnings for Israeli citizens staying abroad, as published by the National Security Council. These adjustments come as El Al publishes its financial report for Q3 2023. Some of the existing flight routes have been modified, and new routes to faraway destinations have been added to the schedule. In addition, flights to several destinations have been suspended. Additionally, El Al has observed changes in consumer behavior among Israelis, with a preference for last-minute bookings rather than reservations months in advance. There have also been changes in destinations.<br/>
Japan Airlines will commence dedicated freighter operations in February next year, with an initial network of points around North Asia. The airline has taken its first dedicated freighter in 13 years, a converted Boeing 767-300ER that previously operated with the Tokyo-based carrier. JAL will deploy the freighter on flights from Tokyo Narita and Nagoya to Taipei, Seoul Incheon, as well as Shanghai Pudong. The first flight is slated to commence on 19 February, the airline adds. “The operation of the freighters will enhance stable and flexible air transportation capabilities, ensuring a steady supply. Furthermore, the development of a network strategy based on growing demand will ensure the satisfaction of customer needs and contribute to the sustainable development of the logistics infrastructure,” states JAL. The airline in May first disclosed plans to operate the 767 converted freighters, as part of “new business” plans to capture “stable and growing demand” in the cargo market. The Oneworld carrier last operated dedicated freighters in 2011, when it retired its fleet of 747-400 freighters. Since then, JAL says it has utilised cargo space on its passenger aircraft, as well as chartering other companies’ freighters in response to demand.<br/>