JetBlue-Spirit antitrust trial wraps with all outcomes on the table; focus turns to Alaska-Hawaiian merger

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will turn 50 in January 2024, and it's marking the milestone with a year-long celebration that will include special events, activities and surprises.

Checking a bag on Alaska Airlines will get slightly more expensive in the new year. 

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the United States has watched at least eight commercial airline brands disappear in a series of mergers in the industry.

Spirit is expanding its Puerto Rico schedule once again, debuting a brand-new flight from Fort Myers to the island territory.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness has challenged the Ministry of Tourism to work closely with tourism partners to significantly boost tourist arrivals and strengthen linkages with other sectors, in particular agriculture. “The impact of tourism goes beyond the confines of the industry itself; it ripples through various sectors creating a web of opportunities for people. Jobs created by tourism extend into agriculture, entertainment, attractions, communications and transportation, to name a few,” noted Prime Minister Holness.

Alaska Airlines’ proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, announced earlier this week, has the potential to alter the existing U.S. air travel landscape significantly. Whether that would prove to be for better or worse remains to be seen, but plenty of experts are already weighing in with predictions.

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines recently announced it plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines for the sum of about $1.9 billion—a historic deal that, if finalized, could create both benefits and setbacks for the flying public.

Think of a Wes Anderson film and the muted greys and browns of a rain-soaked day in London are not the first things that spring to mind. But the UK capital is about to host the first European exhibition of photographs inspired by the vibrant aesthetic of the American film director.

There are a handful of towns, sprinkled across the US, that celebrities love to hunker down in. There’s Montecito, the costal area around Santa Barbara, that counts Oprah and Prince William as neighbors. There’s Montana’s Gallatin county, where Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake supposedly savor the Big Sky along with Bill Gates. And then there’s Franklin, an apple-pickin’ Americana town just outside of Nashville. Among the white picket fences and wide brick porches, a number of celebrities, mostly with country music ties, call Franklin home including Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and Tim McGraw.

Prepping for winter requires serious effort. By the time autumn falls brisk and wet, tree squirrels are already hard at work hoarding and hiding the nuts and seeds they’ll need to sustain themselves through the coldest months. Moles are busying themselves capturing and immobilizing earthworms in underground dungeons. And acorn woodpeckers are drilling and storing up to 50,000 acorns in the dead limbs of “granary trees.”

A merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines would place them as the fifth- or sixth-largest airline depending on whether the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit goes through. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, December 5. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.