’Tis the season of travel industry mergers and acquisitions. In recent news, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice announced approval of Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Virgin America.

“We couldn’t be more excited about receiving DOJ clearance for our merger with Virgin America,” said Brad Tilden, group chairman and CEO, Alaska Air Group. “With this combination now cleared for takeoff, we’re thrilled to bring these two companies together and start delivering our low fares and great service to an even larger group of customers.”

What does the acquisition mean for travelers? Currently, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines codeshare on more than 250 routes. As part of the agreement, Alaska Airlines agreed to implement limited changes to its codeshare agreement with American Airlines. The airline will not lose key gates at Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (DCA), but the airline will not be able to codeshare with American on any routes on which Virgin America and American now compete.

The merger is projected to benefit investors, employees and customers, offering more choices, increased competition and low fares, but the full repercussions remain to be seen.