JetBlue and Spirit Petition Appeals Court To Allow Merger

In what may be a last ditch effort, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines have filed an appeals court brief asking that the merger between the two airlines be allowed to proceed.

The brief, filed today with the Boston 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asks that the court overturn a recent judge’s ruling that stopped the proposed $3.8 billion, according to Reuters.

In the brief, the airlines argued that the merger was improperly blocked and pointed out that the same judge who ruled against the airlines joining forces also recognized that such a merger would: ”improve competition, and thus reduce prices, for the vast majority of consumers.”

JetBlue Airbus A321-200 landing at JFK Airport. (Photo Credit: Lukas Wunderlich/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)

The airlines also argued that combined, the two carriers would be big enough to pose a serious challenge to the legacy airlines that control much of the U.S. market.

In a January 16 decision handed down by U.S. District Judge William Young, the courts ruled that the proposed merger would amount to a violation of federal antitrust law. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed last year by the Department of Justice to block the
merger.

In their latest brief, JetBlue and Spirit said the judge “improperly chose to elevate the interest of a small set of hypothetical consumers over the interest of everyone else,” according to Reuters.

The judge also stated in his ruling that a merger between the two carriers would ultimately harm the traveling public because it would eliminate Spirit’s low-fare offerings from the marketplace.

The next step in this ongoing battle will be for the Justice Department to issue its response to the appeal filed by the two airlines. That’s expected to happen on April 11.

Additionally, the court will hear arguments on the appeal in June. The merger deal between the airlines was scheduled to close on July 24.

If the merger is ultimately not closed, JetBlue owes
Spirit’s stockholders $470 Million in reverse breakup fees.

The acquisition was initially announced by the airlines in
July 2022. Merging the two carriers’ brands and operating certificates would result in the country’s fifth-largest airline, replacing Alaska
Airlines in that slot. It would also give JetBlue increased presence in Florida, Latin
America, and several key cities where JetBlue has limited presence, including
Dallas, Las Vegas, and Atlanta.

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