JetBlue Airways no longer plans to purchase low-cost, no-frills carrier Spirit Airlines, the company announced Monday, because of a federal court ruling that blocked the deal on antitrust grounds.
The Department of Justice claimed that airfares would increase if Spirit no longer operated as an independent airline. Although both JetBlue and Spirit appealed the court’s decision, it became clear that the legal challenges were too significant to finalize the merger.
“Given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines’ interests are better served by moving forward independently,” said JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty.
To end the deal, JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit $69 million. With the deal falling through, there could be another bidding war for Spirit, or it may lead to a bankruptcy filing and liquidation for the airline.
