Justice Department lawyers have been scrutinizing the proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger, which would create the fifth largest U.S. airline, since last summer — interviewing executives, competitors and others to gather evidence for a potential challenge. A separate person with knowledge of the deal said the airlines have long anticipated a DOJ lawsuit, which they argue will crimp their ability to compete against larger U.S. rivals.
The Obama-era Justice Department drew heavy criticism for allowing the merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways, one of the last of the major airline deals that led to the U.S. having just four big carriers: American, Delta, United and Southwest.
A Spirit Airlines plane on the tarmac at Logan International Airport, Jan. 26, 2023, in Boston. | Michael Dwyer/AP Photo Additionally, Spirit was initially planning to merge with its main low-cost rival Frontier, which lost out after an intense bidding war with JetBlue. During that process, a key argument from those airlines was that a JetBlue-Spirit deal would face insurmountable antitrust hurdles.writing in a court filing
In that same filing, prosecutors cited a letter from Spirit CEO Ted Christie to JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes — sent before the two companies inked a deal — opposing both the JetBlue-American partnership and the current merger.
Break apart the other airlines. You cannot favor some and cause the problem, then restrict others.
The Obama-era DOJ drew heavy criticism for allowing the merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways. That was one of the last of the major airline deals that led to the U.S. having just four big carriers: American, Delta, United and Southwest.
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