Private rail operator Brightline will open long-awaited passenger service between Miami and Orlando on September 22, three weeks later than previously planned.
25.08.2023 - 13:58 / skift.com / Spirit Airlines / Merrick Garland / U.S.Airlines / Edward Russell / Spirit Merger
The U.S. Department of Justice is gathering support for its suit to block the $3.8 billion merger of JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines. The attorney generals of California, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina signed on to the antitrust regulator’s lawsuit on Friday, the DOJ said in a statement.
Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., were already parties in the suit that the DOJ filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on March 7. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki said Friday that the additional state support would help the regulator “protect the benefits of competition in the airline industry on behalf of their residents.”
The merger of JetBlue and Spirit would create the fifth largest U.S. airline by passenger numbers, with a roughly 8 percent share of the domestic market.
Not every state opposes the combination. The attorney general of Florida backed the merger after securing a commitment from JetBlue, which would acquire Spirit, to add flights in the state, including to underserved destinations in Florida, like capital Tallahassee, and to Europe.
An out-of-court settlement between the DOJ and airlines remains a possibility. However, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that the combined JetBlue-Spirit “still violates” antitrust law even if the former were to give up what is arguable its strongest bargaining chip, its alliance with American Airlines.
The DOJ’s suit is scheduled to go to trial in a Massachusetts courtroom on October 16.
Private rail operator Brightline will open long-awaited passenger service between Miami and Orlando on September 22, three weeks later than previously planned.
The idea of an airport lounge elicits glamorous images of jet setting and flying first class. The reality is far more mundane: Airport lounges are increasingly common for anyone flying with a credit card, and increasingly crowded, rundown, and, well, not that exclusive.
Spirit Airlines announced the launch of a new round-up feature on the carrier’s official website that allows travelers to increase their total to the next whole dollar during booking, with the balance being donated to the Spirit Charitable Foundation.
In a private lawsuit challenging JetBlue’s proposed merger with Spirit Airlines, the plaintiffs have filed documentation with the court suggesting that the combined airline would increase fares could by 24 to 40%. This revelation came from documents that were improperly redacted before being published.
The U.S.-based, ultra-low-cost carrier in Colombia delivers affordable, nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO).
The Avianca and Viva Air merger has hit a major roadblock with Colombian authorities objecting to the proposed combination. The move could be a blow to Avianca’s plan to create a pan-South American airline group with Brazil’s Gol.
Spirit Airlines has offered as much as a 43% cumulative weighted average pay raise to its pilots over two years, according to a union memo seen by Reuters.
It’s not often that travelers have something to look forward to at Newark Liberty International Airport. The new $2.7 billion Terminal A will open in December, the latest in a series of major airport projects opening around the U.S. this year.
JetBlue Airways will land on the European continent next summer with new flights to Paris.
More Floridians will have access to passenger rail this Christmas with private rail operator Brightline set to open two new stations on December 21. The stations are on Brightline’s existing South Florida rail line at Aventura, which is located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton.
JetBlue Airways has finally made long overdue improvements to its loyalty program True Blue. The New York-based carrier announced on December 7 it’s expanding its elite Mosaic programs and creating a level of mileage accumulation named tiles that enables customers to obtain perks before reaching mosaic levels of flying.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 11, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.