Sept 18 (Reuters) - Alaska Airlines said on

Wednesday it had completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of

Hawaiian Airlines after reaching an agreement with the

U.S. Department of Transportation.

The airlines on Tuesday agreed to maintain key Hawaiian

routes and adopt consumer protections under an agreement that

will last six years.

The Justice Department in August chose not to block the deal

that was announced in December by Alaska, the fifth-largest

domestic U.S. airline, to merge with Hawaiian, the 10th-largest

carrier.

Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said in an interview that the deal

would be good for competition and consumers and would expand

access for consumers to both networks and give Alaska access to

Hawaiian's fleet of wide-body airplanes.

"It's just a few more arrows in our quiver on how we deploy

airplanes across our entire network," Minicucci said. "Putting

the right airplane in the right market to deliver the best

results for the combined entity."

Minicucci said the airline expects to deliver at least $235

million in run-rate synergies by year three.

The Justice Department has been aggressive under President

Joe Biden in blocking airline consolidation. In March, JetBlue

Airways ( JBLU ) and Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) scrapped their

$3.8 billion merger agreement after a U.S. judge blocked the

deal in January on anticompetition concerns following a Justice

Department lawsuit.

The agency also successfully challenged a joint venture that

American and JetBlue ( JBLU ) entered into in 2020, called the "Northeast

Alliance," for flights in and out of New York City and Boston.

The Transportation Department said Alaska and Hawaiian

agreed to protect the value of frequent flyer rewards, maintain

existing service on key Hawaiian routes to the continental

United States and inter-island regions, ensure competitive

access at the Honolulu airport and provide travel credits or

frequent flyer miles for disruptions that are the fault of the

airline.

Hawaiian Airlines' stock will be de-listed and will cease

trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, Alaska said in a statement.

The combined organization will continue to trade under the ALK

ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.