Several more states have joined a federal lawsuit opposed to JetBlue’s purchase of budget airline Spirit Airlines.
California, New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina all oppose the $3.8 billion purchase as many, including the Biden administration, believe it would reduce competition and drive up airline prices.
The lawsuit also adds that it would impact over 150 flight routes making them less competitive and thereby allowing airlines to increase prices without other options.
Yet, JetBlue argues that it will make them a stronger competitor against US leaders American, Delta, United, and Southwest. These airlines control approximately 80% of the domestic US market, whereas JetBlue and Spirit together account for approximately 10%. JetBlue believes that they could offer more national low-fare options through this merger to contest the large market players.
But the lawsuit claims that since Spirit accounts for approximately 50% of the ultra-low-cost market in the US, merging Spirit with JetBlue could reduce the airline’s ability to offer these extremely cheap fares and overall make flights in the US more expensive.
The trial is scheduled to begin on October 16 in Boston.
Check out the video below to see why the Justice Department is opposed to JetBlue purchasing Spirit Airlines:
Featured image from Spirit Airlines
