JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Monday said they are ending their agreement to merge, weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal.

The CEOs of the two carriers cited regulatory hurdlesin ending their merger agreement.

A federal judge in January sided with the Justice Department and blocked JetBlue’s attempted takeover of budget carrier Spirit. In his ruling, Judge William Young said JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit would “harm cost-conscious travelers who rely on Spirit’s low fares.” The airlines had argued that they needed to combine to better compete with the larger airlines that control most of the U.S. market.

JetBlue and Spirit had appealed the judge’s decision, but JetBlue noted the appeal was required under the terms of the merger agreement. Analysts had expected little chance of a successful appeal.

Continue Reading – https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/jetblue-spirit-airlines-merger-called-off.html

By admin