Alaska Airlines’s acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines cleared a major hurdle on Monday, after the airlines said the Justice Department ended a review of the merger without challenging it on antitrust grounds. The approximately $1.9b deal, the first major U.S. airline merger in nearly a decade, is set to expand Alaska’s operation and solidify its position as the country’s fifth-largest airline. The combined company would still be small relative to the four large airlines that dominate U.S. air travel, commanding roughly half the market share of United Airlines. The airlines said they would wait to proceed with the merger until receiving final approval from the Department of Transportation. Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, which relies heavily on Hawaiian Airlines, praised the deal and thanked the Justice Department for taking the state’s needs into account in its review. “I am confident that by the joining of these two airlines, a stronger company will emerge and offer more travel options for Hawai‘i residents and local businesses,” he said in a statement. The milestone reached on Tuesday is a coup for Alaska and Hawaiian, which succeeded where others failed. Under President Biden, the Justice Department has taken a strong stand against big mergers and acquisitions. JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines this year abandoned their plans to merge after the department successfully sued to prevent the deal, citing Spirit’s low fares among other things. The Transportation Department said in a statement that it was reviewing Alaska’s acquisition of Hawaiian but that it would only grant approval “if it is in the public interest.” It is not clear how long it would take the department to complete its review. When Alaska and Hawaiian announced the deal in December, Alaska’s CE, Ben Minicucci, said the combination would help his airline grow by expanding its presence in tourist destinations and to Asia, where it currently does not fly. It will also give Alaska access to more planes and pilots and other skilled workers.<br/>
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A model and actress has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines claiming to have sustained serious injuries after being served “broken plastic” in a beverage. Shana Wall, 51, who appeared on the twelfth season of The Amazing Race, and dated TV present Ryan Seacrest in the early 2000s, has sued the airline after injuring her throat, esophagus, vocal cords and digestive system, the lawsuit, obtained by The Independent, claimed. Her injuries resulted from being “served a drink in a glass containing broken plastic and shards” while on an American Airlines flight from JFK airport flight to Rome on May 1. The lawsuit, which was filed on August 12, claims that the airline "had a duty to provide beverages and food that was uncontaminated and fit for consumption” but instead "caused and created the dangerous, defective and unsafe condition on the airplane”. The documents state that American Airlines had provided plastic glasses to its passengers to drink out of during the flight.<br/>
The CE of Qatar Airways has signalled the Gulf airline is on the hunt for more deals after buying a stake in South Africa’s Airlink. Qatar Airways on Tuesday acquired a 25% stake in Airlink, which flies to more than 45 destinations in 15 African countries, as part of an expansion of its operations on the continent. “We already have a big basket of investments . . . we will not shy away from investing in other airlines if we see there is potential to collaborate and work together,” Qatar Airways CE Badr Mohammed Al-Meer told the Financial Times. Qatar Airways has already built up a significant portfolio of investments, including a 25 per cent stake in British Airways owner International Airlines Group. It also holds 10% stakes in Latam Airlines and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, as well as 3.4% in China Southern Airlines. Al-Meer said Qatar Airways is also “working very closely to finalise” a long-planned investment for 49% of RwandAir, Rwanda’s state-owned airline. The investment is designed to increase its access to passengers from regional cities in Africa and ultimately funnel more traffic through its Doha hub. “Africa is very important for us . . . Africa represents 18 per cent of the world population, and it is really underserved as a continent,” Al-Meer said. Deals with Airlink and RwandAir would represent the “last part of the equation” in Qatar Airways’ African expansion, he added. Demand for air travel is forecast to grow rapidly in Africa as economies develop, but the continent’s aviation market has yet to live up to its potential. A 37-country initiative to liberalise rules over the continent’s airspace was launched in 2018. However, the Single African Air Transport Market has not been fully implemented, in part due to countries protecting their national carriers from competition.<br/>
A technical issue forced a Kuala Lumpur-bound Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to be diverted to Alice Springs Airport (ASP). Malaysia Airlines said that flight MH128 safely landed at 4.35am local time (3.05am Singapore time) on Aug 19 at the airport located in Australia’s Northern Territory, about 1,800km from its departure point. “The airline is actively working to re-book passengers on new flights while also arranging accommodation and reimbursements for meal expenses where applicable,” it said in a statement on Aug 20. “Malaysia Airlines regrets the inconvenience caused by baggage offloading delays. We are currently working with the airport handler to address equipment limitations for wide-body aircraft and expedite the process.” The airline reminded passengers to update their contact details via “My Booking” on Malaysia Airlines’ website to ensure they receive timely updates via email and SMS. Earlier, Australian media SBS News reported that a passenger of the Airbus A330-300 aircraft said that they felt “a low vibration” before the captain announced that the engine “had stalled” and they would need to circle for two hours to burn fuel before landing at the airport.<br/>