The Biden administration has fought back against consolidation. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against JetBlue on Tuesday.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit to block the merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines due to concerns that the merger would lead to higher prices and fewer options for travelers.
This filing is part of the Biden administration’s pushback against corporate consolidation.
Statista data shows that JetBlue’s average ticket price is nearly double that of Spirit Airlines.
The DOJ argues that the merger would eliminate the ‘Spirit Effect’ in which Spirit’s presence in the market forces other air carriers to lower their fares.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) parroted Spirit Airlines’ own words in a lawsuit filed Tuesday to block JetBlue’s acquisition of the low-budget airline.
Spirit Airlines agreed to the merger last summer, a move that would combine Spirit with JetBlue in a $3.8 billion deal. JetBlue competed with Frontier Airlines for months before succeeding in its acquisition of Spirit Airlines in July.
The DOJ took legal action Tuesday, suing JetBlue to block the merger.
