, Columnist
Alaska Air Needs to Grow. JetBlue Would Be a Perfect Fit.
The Seattle-based airline is integrating its $1.9 billion Hawaiian acquisition and needs to take the next step to become a truly nationwide carrier.
A fifth national carrier is just a merger away.
Photographer: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
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Scale matters in the airline industry.
Just look at the divergent stories of JetBlue Airways Corp., which tried twice and failed to gain more scale, and Alaska Air Group Inc., whose management team impressed a room full of analysts with the cost savings and network expansion that will result from its recent acquisition of Hawaiian Holdings Inc.