The JetBlue/Spirit Merger Blocked: 'We Can't Compete Without This Deal'
Internal airline emails and trial testimony from the DOJ's successful challenge to the JetBlue-Spirit merger, as told through the antitrust trial record.
"We need this deal because we can't compete with the Big Four otherwise. But the DOJ is going to say the opposite: that Spirit is the competition, and we're trying to eliminate it." In March 2023, the DOJ sued to block JetBlue's $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, arguing the merger would eliminate the ultra-low-cost carrier that had forced fares down across the industry. The trial in Boston produced internal emails, executive testimony, and a ruling from Judge William Young that handed the DOJ a decisive victory. The communications reveal an airline that knew exactly what it was doing.
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- JetBlue's internal view of Spirit
- The DOJ confronts Hayes at trial
- The Spirit CEO's own words
- Judge Young's ruling
- The aftermath: Spirit files for bankruptcy