A JetBlue Airbus A320 takes off while Spirit Airlines planes sit off-runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on May 16, 2022.
DOJ Sues to Block 'Blatantly Anti-Competitive' JetBlue-Spirit Airlines Merger
"The Department of Justice is standing up for passengers, workers, and communities across the country," said one expert.
Consumer and labor advocates on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue's proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, its biggest competitor, a deal that critics say would harm passengers and workers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., allege in the civil antitrust suit that "by eliminating that competition and further consolidating the United States airlines industry, the proposed transaction will increase fares and reduce choice on routes across the country, raising costs for the flying public and harming cost-conscious fliers most acutely."
While the two airlines argue that their merger would increase competition, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the deal "would result in higher fares and fewer choices for tens of millions of travelers, with the greatest impact felt by those who rely on what are known as ultra-low-cost carriers in order to fly."
"Americans want more choices and lower prices for airline tickets, not another giant merger."
Consumer advocacy groups agreed with Garland's assessment.
"In blocking this blatantly anti-competitive deal, the Department of Justice is standing up for passengers, workers, and communities across the country," William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said in a statement. "Don't believe JetBlue's corporate spin: Allowing JetBlue to gobble up a low-cost competitor and accelerate concentration in the aviation industry will immediately drive up fares nationwide."
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)—which represents JetBlue flight attendants—also opposes the deal.
"We have yet to see a credible argument that a consolidated JetBlue-Spirit will enhance competition in the domestic airline industry," TWU international president John Samuelsen wrote in a letter to Garland and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month.
"Workers and passengers will be harmed, just as they have been in many past airline consolidations, as the new airline follows the business practices, pricing strategies, and labor cost-cutting practices previous combined carriers have undergone," Samuelsen added.
Some opponents of the airline megadeal noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has the power to do more to block anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.
As the Economic Liberties Project noted: "The DOT already has broad, existing authority under the Clayton Act to block airline mergers. Similarly, under Title 49 of the U.S. Code, DOT has broad authority to investigate and prosecute anti-competitive airline mergers, and to deny route transfers that contravene the public interest or affect domestic competition."
The group also highlighted President Joe Biden's call for Buttigieg to deliver financial relief to air travelers and align the DOT with the White House's plan to promote a more competitive economy.
"Secretary Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation have broad authority to block harmful mergers and promote competition throughout the airline industry," McGee said. "We're also pleased to see reporting that DOT plans to use their power, embracing President Biden's competition agenda, to stop the JetBlue-Spirit deal."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Consumer and labor advocates on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue's proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, its biggest competitor, a deal that critics say would harm passengers and workers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., allege in the civil antitrust suit that "by eliminating that competition and further consolidating the United States airlines industry, the proposed transaction will increase fares and reduce choice on routes across the country, raising costs for the flying public and harming cost-conscious fliers most acutely."
While the two airlines argue that their merger would increase competition, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the deal "would result in higher fares and fewer choices for tens of millions of travelers, with the greatest impact felt by those who rely on what are known as ultra-low-cost carriers in order to fly."
"Americans want more choices and lower prices for airline tickets, not another giant merger."
Consumer advocacy groups agreed with Garland's assessment.
"In blocking this blatantly anti-competitive deal, the Department of Justice is standing up for passengers, workers, and communities across the country," William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said in a statement. "Don't believe JetBlue's corporate spin: Allowing JetBlue to gobble up a low-cost competitor and accelerate concentration in the aviation industry will immediately drive up fares nationwide."
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)—which represents JetBlue flight attendants—also opposes the deal.
"We have yet to see a credible argument that a consolidated JetBlue-Spirit will enhance competition in the domestic airline industry," TWU international president John Samuelsen wrote in a letter to Garland and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month.
"Workers and passengers will be harmed, just as they have been in many past airline consolidations, as the new airline follows the business practices, pricing strategies, and labor cost-cutting practices previous combined carriers have undergone," Samuelsen added.
Some opponents of the airline megadeal noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has the power to do more to block anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.
As the Economic Liberties Project noted: "The DOT already has broad, existing authority under the Clayton Act to block airline mergers. Similarly, under Title 49 of the U.S. Code, DOT has broad authority to investigate and prosecute anti-competitive airline mergers, and to deny route transfers that contravene the public interest or affect domestic competition."
The group also highlighted President Joe Biden's call for Buttigieg to deliver financial relief to air travelers and align the DOT with the White House's plan to promote a more competitive economy.
"Secretary Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation have broad authority to block harmful mergers and promote competition throughout the airline industry," McGee said. "We're also pleased to see reporting that DOT plans to use their power, embracing President Biden's competition agenda, to stop the JetBlue-Spirit deal."
Consumer and labor advocates on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue's proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines, its biggest competitor, a deal that critics say would harm passengers and workers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., allege in the civil antitrust suit that "by eliminating that competition and further consolidating the United States airlines industry, the proposed transaction will increase fares and reduce choice on routes across the country, raising costs for the flying public and harming cost-conscious fliers most acutely."
While the two airlines argue that their merger would increase competition, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the deal "would result in higher fares and fewer choices for tens of millions of travelers, with the greatest impact felt by those who rely on what are known as ultra-low-cost carriers in order to fly."
"Americans want more choices and lower prices for airline tickets, not another giant merger."
Consumer advocacy groups agreed with Garland's assessment.
"In blocking this blatantly anti-competitive deal, the Department of Justice is standing up for passengers, workers, and communities across the country," William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said in a statement. "Don't believe JetBlue's corporate spin: Allowing JetBlue to gobble up a low-cost competitor and accelerate concentration in the aviation industry will immediately drive up fares nationwide."
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)—which represents JetBlue flight attendants—also opposes the deal.
"We have yet to see a credible argument that a consolidated JetBlue-Spirit will enhance competition in the domestic airline industry," TWU international president John Samuelsen wrote in a letter to Garland and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month.
"Workers and passengers will be harmed, just as they have been in many past airline consolidations, as the new airline follows the business practices, pricing strategies, and labor cost-cutting practices previous combined carriers have undergone," Samuelsen added.
Some opponents of the airline megadeal noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has the power to do more to block anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.
As the Economic Liberties Project noted: "The DOT already has broad, existing authority under the Clayton Act to block airline mergers. Similarly, under Title 49 of the U.S. Code, DOT has broad authority to investigate and prosecute anti-competitive airline mergers, and to deny route transfers that contravene the public interest or affect domestic competition."
The group also highlighted President Joe Biden's call for Buttigieg to deliver financial relief to air travelers and align the DOT with the White House's plan to promote a more competitive economy.
"Secretary Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation have broad authority to block harmful mergers and promote competition throughout the airline industry," McGee said. "We're also pleased to see reporting that DOT plans to use their power, embracing President Biden's competition agenda, to stop the JetBlue-Spirit deal."