Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden still remains ‘very confident’ the airline’s $2.6 billion purchase of Virgin America will go through but admits he is unsure when it will be completed.
"We were hoping to get this done a couple of weeks ago. We’re not there quite yet," Tilden said.
"Our hope is we’ll have antitrust clearance soon."
The takeover was delayed when the US Department of Justice requested a late extension of an antitrust review.
Tilden said the financing is in place and it can be completed quickly once the DOJ grants final approval.
When that happens Alaska will be ‘an airline with a national footprint and an unmatched ability to serve West Coast travelers,’ Tilden said.
Due to the DOJ holdup, the ailine has pushed back the introduction of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
It will now go into service in early 2018.
"With so much going on, we wanted more time to bring it into service."
