Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger Challenge Bounced by Judge

Passengers trying to disrupt a merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines failed, for a second time, to successfully plead that the combination violated federal antitrust laws, a federal judge said.

The plaintiffs, who say the merger raises the cost and lowers the number of flights to and from Hawaii, didn’t allege sufficient facts to define the relevant geographic market or show the anticompetitive effects of the merger, Judge Micah W.J. Smith said April 24. The US District Court for the District of Hawaii judge dismissed the lawsuit, but gave the plaintiffs a chance to argue for filing an amended ...