The JetBlue-Spirit Airline Union: Let the Lawyering Begin
Photo Credit: Skift / Illustration by Taylor Slattery
Skift Take
JetBlue has the takeover deal it wanted. But before getting control of its rival Spirit, Washington will need to give its green light. Here are the ways this could unfold.
Spirit Airlines might still escape JetBlue‘s clutches. Not from anything Frontier Airlines might do — Frontier is now out of the picture. Instead, the biggest obstacle now standing between JetBlue and its takeover of the Florida-based discounter are government lawyers. Antitrust lawyers.
To those lawyers, JetBlue will argue the following: Merging with Spirit will help consumers, not hurt them. Four giants currently dominate the domestic U.S. landscape (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines). A fifth airline with national scope will help exert downward pressure on fares, especially in big hub cities. In addition, JetBlue pledges to divest some of Spirit’s Boston, Fort Lauderdale, and New York assets to other low-cost carriers. The newly-enlarged JetBlue will become a more meaningful option for consumers in more places outside of the eastern seaboard, including large markets like Los An
