Alaska Air Group remains upbeat over its deal to acquire Virgin America even though the expected date to finalize has been pushed back to October.
In a joint statement Alaska Air and Virgin America said it is ‘confident they will address any concerns’ after agreeing to a request for more time to review the $4 billion deal by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The review period was extended by 17 days to October 17.
Alaska said it has agreed ‘not to consummate the acquisition prior to October 17, unless the DOJ provides written concurrence to close within a shorter period.’
"Given the airlines’ largely complementary networks, the relative size of this merger compared to past airline combinations, and both Virgin America and Alaska’s emphasis on customer service, the airlines are also confident the DOJ will agree this merger," the statement added.
"It will provide consumers more choices and lower fares while allowing for more robust competition against the Big Four airlines which control 84% of the domestic market."
The airlines still expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Last week Virgin flight attendants voted against a new labor contract fearing complications over the proposed merger.
Virgin’s stock price fell more than 4% as a result, but Virgin CEO David Cush stated everything is ‘going according to plan.’
