Spirit Airlines Urges U.S. to Reject JetBlue-United Partnership
Photo Credit: Flickr / Rene Hernandez
Skift Take
Spirit recently emerged from bankruptcy and is hoping to block new competition. But the first Trump administration approved the original Northeast Alliance.
Spirit Airlines said that the proposed JetBlue-United partnership “raises serious competition and public interest questions” in a complaint to the Department of Transportation filed on Tuesday.
“JetBlue, enticed by the benefit to its customers of United’s far larger global network, will become a de facto vassal of United,” Spirit said in the complaint.
The partnership, known as “Blue Sky,” was announced in May after JetBlue executives had repeatedly said they were keen to start a new alliance with a U.S. airline.
The complaint compared the JetBlue-United tie-up to the Northeast Alliance, JetBlue’s partnership with American Airlines that was struck down in court on the grounds that it was anticompe
