Airline takeovers don't have a good track record. That didn't stop Alaska Air from agreeing this week to pony up in a big way for Virgin America. Yet the combined company will still have to deal with many of the industry woes that have dogged previous mergers, including high fixed costs, strong unions and passengers wary of paying too much for tickets. Even Virgin founder Richard Branson is concerned Virgin America's customer service will suffer. Bloomberg M&A reporter Matt Monks joins Deal of the Week host Alex Sherman to discuss why Alaska nevertheless was willing to bet big on Virgin.

<p>Airline takeovers don't have a good track record. That didn't stop Alaska Air from agreeing this week to pony up in a big way for Virgin America. Yet the combined company will still have to deal with many of the industry woes that have dogged previous mergers, including high fixed costs, strong unions and passengers wary of paying too much for tickets. Even Virgin founder Richard Branson is concerned Virgin America's customer service will suffer. Bloomberg M&amp;A reporter Matt Monks joins Deal of the Week host Alex Sherman to discuss why Alaska nevertheless was willing to bet big on Virgin.</p>

Bloomberg M&A reporters, joined by outside experts and members of Bloomberg's Deals team, examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street. He'll talk to reporters who broke Bloomberg's major scoops and interview investors, executives, lawyers and bankers for an inside peek into what's going on inside corporate boardrooms and what it's like working with the world's largest companies and richest people.

Bloomberg M&A reporter Alex Sherman examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street.

Deal of the Week

20: Will Alaska’s Virgin Acquisition Go Bust?

20: Will Alaska's Virgin Acquisition Go Bust?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/54b78d82-e14b-448f-9278-ae390058338e/transcript