A Federal District Court judge ruled Tuesday that JetBlue cannot move ahead with its plan to absorb Spirit Airlines into its brand and network, saying it would harm buyers who depend on discount tickets. JetBlue and Spirit both compete in the discount segment, although JetBlue is not a true ultra-low-cost carrier.
The two airlines had argued that their merger would be a boost for competition, creating a stronger #5 carrier behind the four airlines that together account for more than 80% of air traffic in the U.S., a situation that resulted from previous mergers permitted or negotiated with the same Department of Justice that filed suit against the JetBlue plan.
JetBlue and Spirit will consider whether an appeal or other action is possible. They argued that rather than squelching competition, the merger would support it because, they say, Spirit can no longer continue on its own after losses that have been piling up since the beginning of the pandemic. Also, they argued, Spirit’s place in the ULCC worlds would be eagerly occupied by a bevy of other airlines, some of them startups (Avelo, Breeze) and others already well-established (Allegiant, Frontier).
