Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines, two major carriers serving the Hawaii market, are seeking to create a joint venture that they say would provide consumers with lower fares, increased capacity and more choices.

The carriers have petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for immunity from antitrust laws. Hawaiian and JAL hope to obtain government approval later this year, which would allow them to launch their new joint venture in the second quarter of 2019.

Hawaiian, which is in its 89th year of service, is the state’s largest and longest- serving airline. The carrier offers nonstop service to Hawaii from 12 U.S. gateway cities, along with service from Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti.

The joint venture, which would be Hawaiian’s first, would be expected to build on the codeshare partnership that was announced between the two carriers in March. The JV would allow the carriers to coordinate marketing and sales efforts and share costs and revenue on their joint venture routes. Hawaiian provides approximately 170 jet flights daily between the Hawaiian Islands, and offers more than 250 daily flights systemwide. JAL, which was founded in 1951, now reaches more than 344 airports in 56 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners with a fleet of more than 228 aircraft.

Tourism analysts agree that the news is good for both carriers, which face increased competition, especially from low-cost carriers like AirAsia X and Scoot for routes to and from Hawaii and Asia. It also predates the highly anticipated entry of Southwest Airlines into Hawaii. Southwest announced in May that it intends to fly nonstop to Hawaii from four cities in California: Oakland, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento. The carrier also said it would offer interisland service, possibly within a year after beginning its mainland-Hawaii flights.

Analysts agree that the move is good for Hawaii, a fly-to destination that benefits when carriers are strong and their business is good. However, they say the JV’s impact on consumers is less clear.

Mike Boyd, a Colorado- based aviation consultant for The Boyd Group, called the JV a “brilliant” move that would benefit the carriers, their passengers and the Hawaii destination in general. Boyd concurs with the statement from Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, that the ” joint venture will combine two premier brands in the highly competitive Japan-Hawaii market, and travelers from both of our countries will benefit.”

The joint venture could provide improved access for Hawaiian Airlines to 34 destinations throughout Japan, including Nagoya and Okinawa, as well as 11 points in Asia beyond Japan. JAL could benefit from enhanced access to Hawaiian’s neighbor island network and its nonstop flights to Honolulu from Haneda and Sapporo.

Yuji Akasaka, president of Japan Airlines, said in a statement, “Through our new partnership with Hawaiian Airlines, we hope to boost travel of not only Japanese visitors to and through the beautiful Hawaiian Islands, but also that of Hawaii residents seeking to travel to and beyond Japan to Asian countries on our seamless networks.”

Hawaiian and JAL estimate that transitioning into a joint venture would bring an additional 162,000 to 350,000 passengers to Hawaii. The additional visitors could contribute an extra $184.5 million to $402.3 million to the U.S. economy annually and generate an extra 1,855 to 4,049 U.S. jobs.

Boyd says he thinks a JV would deliver every bit of those new arrivals, possibly even more.

“Their estimates are conservative. There will be additional connectivity and ability to book on a wider base,” Boyd said. “This will be good for the carriers and for consumers, who tend to benefit from JVs 90 percent of the time. More visitors will likely mean more jobs.”

Beth Churchill, owner of the Churchill Group LLC, said that a “JV would be great for Hawaiian and JAL, but its impact on the consumer remains to be seen.”

“It’s good when legacy carriers prepare for stiffer competition,” Churchill said. “They are in the lucky position of being able to cut back or move their assets when they don’t do well, and nobody wants that.”

Hawaiian and JAL have touted that efficiency improvements under a JV could lead to lower fares. Churchill said consumers are likely to benefit from greater choices if the JV goes through. However, from her perspective, less competition might lead to higher fares.

“Competition, not consolidation, is what drives prices lower,” she said.

Boyd said he expects any price change would be more of a moderation than a deal.