JetBlue is doing anything it can to move forward with its Spirit Airlines merger, including giving up all of Spirit’s slots at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
These past few weeks have been big for JetBlue as it announced an agreement with Frontier to give the other budget airline all of Spirit’s holdings at LaGuardia Airport.
Frontier would take six gates and 22 slots, ensuring the number of low-cost airlines at New York City’s smaller airport remains high.
This decision is in direct response to the lawsuit from the Department of Justice to block the merger, claiming it violates antitrust laws and makes over 150 flight routes less competitive, thereby allowing airlines to increase prices without other options.
It also addresses the recent block of a JetBlue and American Airlines partnership by the US government alleging their New York and Boston operations were too controlled by the alliance.
The $3.8 billion acquisition is dependent on this handover by Spirit, expected to take place early 2024.
If approved, the merger would create the fifth-largest airline in the US, which JetBlue argues it would need to compete against American, Delta, Southwest, and United, which together make up roughly 80% of the country’s aviation market.
Featured image credit chris.klax
