U.S Judge Blocks JetBlue-Spirit Merger in the Courts

In the last few minutes, it has emerged that a U.S judge has blocked the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines.

The proposed $3.8bn purchase has been struck down due to concerns over competition, as per reporting from CNBC.

Without further ado, let’s get into it…

U.S Judge Blocks JetBlue-Spirit Merger in the Courts…

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The Justice Department has clearly got it’s point across regarding the JetBlue-Spirit merger, with them saying the following back in March:

“JetBlue’s plan would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides—and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry—and leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options”.

At the time of writing (1810 UK time), neither JetBlue or Spirit have released a statement regarding the ruling from the judge in the courts.

This also comes during a time where leadership transition has taken place at JetBlue as well, with Joanne Geraghty having a busy start to her new tenure as CEO.

What Happens Next?

At this stage, it is unclear what will happen next in this saga. It will be down to JetBlue to choose whether they wish to appeal this decision made by the U.S judge regarding the Spirit merger.

Looking ahead, this could have further implications down the line for other carriers who are wishing to merge, especially with the Biden Administration taking a hardline stance on this.

Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines are set to merge in the coming months and years ahead, so all eyes will be on how the outcome of that goes.

But for now, all we can do is wait and see what happens in the days ahead.

This remains a developing story. As soon as we hear anything from JetBlue & Spirit Airlines, we will update this piece accordingly.

UPDATE #1 @ 1824 UK time – Words coming in from the Judge regarding the reasoning to block the merger.

UPDATE #2 @ 1853 UK time – JetBlue & Spirit Airlines have sent AviationSource a joint statement on today’s court ruling!

“We disagree with the U.S. District Court’s ruling.”

“We continue to believe that our combination is the best opportunity to increase much needed competition and choice by bringing low fares and great service to more customers in more markets while enhancing our ability to compete with the dominant U.S. carriers.”

“JetBlue’s termination of the Northeast Alliance and commitment to significant divestitures have removed any reasonable anti-competitive concerns that the Department of Justice raised.”

“We are reviewing the court’s decision and are evaluating our next steps as part of the legal process.”

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