JetBlue Airways will have its day in court.
Twice, in fact.
Next month is the federal trial in Boston against the Department of Justice, which has sued to block the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. The DOJ says the merger will kill competition, prices will rise and it will eliminate Spirit, the nation’s most inexpensive low-budget carrier.
Not so fast, says JetBlue.
The airline is trying its hand, somewhat, in the court of aviation public opinion.
JetBlue is turning over two of its gates at Boston Logan International Airport and two of its take off and landing rights at Newark Liberty International Airport to Allegiant Air. JetBlue said it would also give up as many as five gates at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida.
The carrier is trying to do everything it can to salvage its $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit. All of the agreements with Allegiant are contingent upon the merger going through. JetBlue had previously announced it would divest Spirit’s holding at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Frontier Airlines.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said the move “is aimed at removing any doubt of our commitment to promoting competition.”
It might be too little, too late. And, frankly, it screams of desperation.
I see what JetBlue is trying to do here, and it’s admirable. The airline is trying to grow its business, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It went through an extraordinarily difficult time in trying to merge with Spirit against Frontier Airlines. And it eventually wore down Spirit's stockholders By increasing its offer and throwing gobs of money at Spirit that Frontier just couldn’t match.
But the DOJ has something huge on its side in the precedence of a favorable court ruling.
In a court case from earlier this year, JetBlue was forced to end its partnership with American Airlines, known as the Northeast Alliance. Words like monopoly and competition were thrown around. Some of the same words that you hear now and some of the same words that you will hear in October during the federal trial.
To the bottom line is just that, however. The bottom line. It's what the judge thinks is the best for the consumer.
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