The Department of Justice’s statutory review period for the Alaska Airlines acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines lapsed on Monday without an anti-trust suit. That surprised me – I expected a deal where Alaska guaranteed minimum service between the islands of Hawaii, at least.

However Alaska walked back its claim that this meant the DOJ’s review of the merger was complete. DOJ could still file suit.

Investigative anti-trust reporter Diane Alter wrote for CTFN Mergers & Acquisitions Reporting, though, Alaska’s first statement was effectively but not technically accurate. “As a practical matter, the DOJ is likely done with its review” citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

• DOJ will continue to consult with the White House and Department of Transportation as DOT works towards approval of the transaction.

• The statutory waiting period has lapsed, but the transaction can’t close until DOT approves. So DOJ technically could still file suit prior to transaction close. They aren’t expected to and have largely moved on from the matter.

The Department of Transportation is expected to approve the deal – after consultations with both the Office of the President and of the Vice President, according to Alter. DOT may still extract concessions from Alaska prior to doing so.

However, whatever guarantees are offered such as sets or frequencies for a period of time on inter-island routes or otherwise, that shouldn’t prevent the deal from closing – hence as of this writing Hawaiian Airlines stock is up around half a percent today at nearly $17.50 – very close to the deal price of $18. That gap reflects both some small amount of uncertainty, plus the time value of money (that the deal will not close today).