NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Lately, when airlines suggest a thrilling deal, investors are left feeling queasy. Look at Alaska Air (ALK.N), whose shares cratered 15% on Monday after announcing the acquisition of struggling Hawaiian (HA.O). As happened when first Frontier (ULCC.O) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) bid for Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) in 2022, though, the buyer’s shareholders are balking. But it suggests that, by tying up, smaller airlines risk combining their woes. The deal comes as a lawsuit by the Department of Justice looking to block the merger of Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways heads to closing arguments on Dec. 5.

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Persons: they’ll, trustbusters, nix, Pete Buttigieg doesn’t, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Alaska Air, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Department of Transportation, of Justice, Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Alaska, Hawaii