The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit to block a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines in the latest antitrust move from the Biden administration.
JetBlue has argued that the merger would bring down prices, forcing other airlines to lower their fares to compete with the two lower-cost airlines. However, antitrust officials have said that the loss of Spirit Airlines’s independence would mean the loss of Spirit’s extra-low fares, and that JetBlue’s proposed changes to Spirit flights, like removing seats, would force the airline to raise prices to recoup lost fares.
Airline worker unions have been torn about the merger. The Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America, which represents about 5,600 Spirit flight attendants, has expressed support for the merger; Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson wrotethat she believes the merger would increase competition in the industry and that it was the “anti-merger, merger.”
However, the Transport Workers Union, which represents 6,800 JetBlue flight attendants, raised concerns in a separate letter last month about the potential anti-competitive effects of the merger. “We have yet to see a credible argument that a consolidated JetBlue/Spirit will enhance competition in the domestic airline industry,” theLawmakers have also sounded the alarm about the merger. In September, Sen.
“Airline industry competitiveness is in free fall, and consumers are feeling the consequences,” Warren wrote. Major airline “dominance has been achievedprimarily by offering better, more reliable service to passengers at lower fares but instead through a series of airline mega-mergers that have reduced service quality and increased fares.”We’re proud to publish real news 365 days of the year, completely free of charge to our readers.
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