again shake up an industry that has seen a dwindling number of airlines capture a higher share of the market during its existence. The New York-based carrier is at the center of two high-profile antitrust cases that could redefine how U.S. airlines compete —The JetBlue cases are coming at a time of upheaval in the airline industry, which survived on federal bailout money for much of the pandemic before a surge in travel enthusiasm exposed vulnerabilities in its operations.
“I think you can make the case that we are at an inflection point,” said Joe Brancatelli, editor of the JoeSentMe business travel website. “If JetBlue gets away with one or possibly even both of these moves, it will start the wheels moving again.” “It’s not sustainable to have everyone else that’s out there with a 20 percent share and expect everything just to carry on,” JetBlue chief executive Robin Hayes said in an interview with The Washington Post. “These smaller airlines are going to have to combine and get together in some form in order to be successful over time.
But last April, JetBlue announced a surprise bid for Spirit, which delayed a shareholder vote four times as it scrambled to salvage its deal with Frontier. Among its arguments: A merger with JetBlue was unlikely to win regulatory approval. In the end however, JetBlue prevailed after winning approval from Spirit shareholders in July. Spirit did not respond to requests for comment this week on the merger.
“The argument that JetBlue has advanced toward a merger with Spirit is that it’s going to upgrade the quality, and yes, you may get higher quality, but you’ve also just eliminated a low-cost competitor — one that consumers wanted,” Ederer said. “Those who want to fly cheap want to have a low-cost competitor.”
vankapro Spirit is awful. Worst airline ever.
How about the mergers of the Justice Department and the Executive Branch. Is than not a conflict?
Opposition to the flim flam. American airlines to Spirit, yeah they both suck.