Former JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes made around $10.8 million in total compensation in 2023, his highest take home pay in the past two years, according to a proxy statement JetBlue filed Friday.
05.03.2024 - 19:30 / travelpulse.com / Spirit Airlines / Joanna Geraghty / North America / U.S.Airlines / Ted Christie / Donald Wood
JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced the companies have agreed to terminate their July 2022 merger agreement.
Officials from JetBlue and Spirit mutually agreed that terminating is the best path forward for both companies as required closing conditions, including receiving necessary legal and regulatory approvals, were unlikely to be met by July 24, 2024.
“We believed this merger was worth pursuing because it would have unleashed a national low-fare, high-value competitor to the Big Four airlines,” said Joanna Geraghty, chief executive officer, JetBlue. “We are proud of the work we did with Spirit to lay out a vision to challenge the status quo, but given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines’ interests are better served by moving forward independently.”
JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million as part of the agreement, and the termination resolves all outstanding matters related to the transaction, under which any claims between them will be mutually released.
Both airlines have already shifted gears as part of an effort to return to sustained profitability, with JetBlue and Spirit representatives refocusing on core strengths, delivering meaningful cost savings and deepening network relevance.
“After discussing our options with our advisors and JetBlue, we concluded that current regulatory obstacles will not permit us to close this transaction in a timely fashion under the merger agreement," said Ted Christie, Spirit's President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We are disappointed we cannot move forward with a deal that would save hundreds of millions for consumers and create a real challenger to the dominant Big 4 U.S. airlines,” Christie continued. “However, we remain confident in our future as a successful independent airline. We wish the JetBlue team well.”
In January, a federal judge handed down a decision barring JetBlue and Spirit from merging to form a single airline in their current state, citing antitrust concerns. The judge found that eliminating Spirit would harm consumers by removing an ultra-low-cost competitor that had driven other carriers to lower their fares.
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Former JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes made around $10.8 million in total compensation in 2023, his highest take home pay in the past two years, according to a proxy statement JetBlue filed Friday.
The Department of Transportation is reviewing how the 10 largest U.S. airlines handle, use and collect passengers’ personal information.
JetBlue Airways is taking an ax to its network as it works to cut costs and improve on-time performance.
As part of its Nonstop to Net Zero effort, Southwest Airlines is signing on to a project that's been dubbed the Hawaii Seaglider Initiative.A new mode of transportation designed to combine the speed of an aircraft with the “relatively lower cost of a boat to reduce the time and cost” of transporting travelers, seagliders are all-electric, zero-emission vessels. They operate exclusively over water and can move at up to 180 miles-per-hour, which dramatically reduces travel time. Seagliders function by floating on their hull before transitioning to “wave-tolerant underwater hydrofoils” and then take flight at ultra-low altitudes about 30- to 60-feet above the surface of the water. The vessels are being designed by Rhode Island based manufacturer REGENT.The Hawaii Seaglider Initiative (HSI) was first announced in January and includes a broad coalition of partners. Some of the high-profile corporate and community partners supporting the effort include AES Hawaiʻi, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii Building & Constructions Trades Council, Hawaiʻi Lodging and Tourism Association, Japan Airlines, Maui Hotel & Lodging Association, Mokulele Airlines, Molokaʻi Chamber of Commerce, Polynesian Adventure, and United Airlines.
After a spate of high-profile airline industry incidents, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has issued a memo addressing safety concerns.In the memo Kirby said safety is the airline’s top priority, according to a report from The Points Guy.The airline CEO also discussed United’s own safety incidents, including acknowledging the airline has had “a number” of such incidents."While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus," Kirby wrote, per The Points Guy. "Our team is reviewing the details of each case to understand what happened and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.”The memo from the CEO also indicates that United is working on rolling out a variety of new safety measures. Though Kirby also explained that the new safety upgrades were in the works before United’s recent spate of safety episodes. Some of the new measures the airline will be implementing include an extra day of training for pilots and new curriculum for maintenance technicians."I'm confident that we'll learn the right lessons from these recent incidents and continue to run an operation that puts safety first and makes our employees and customers proud," Kirby added.Kirby’s memo comes on the heels of a rocky few months for the airline industry as a whole. The most significant of which was the January 5 incident involving a Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max flight during which a door plug blew off after take-off and the plane was required to make an emergency landing.A handful of passengers who were on that Alaska Airlines flight have since filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Boeing, alleging negligence on the part of the plane manufacturer.As for United Airlines, one of its flights involving a 737 Max rolled off the runway at George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston recently. Part of the plane’s landing gear collapsed as a result. That United incident followed a tire falling from a Boeing 777-200 plane (also flown by United) one day earlier.
Editors' note: JetBlue provided TPG with a free one-way business-class ticket for the inaugural Dublin route. All opinions expressed here are the author's alone and were not subject to review by JetBlue.
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JetBlue has had a rough few years. Its attempts at growth — whether through the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines or its merger with Spirit Airlines — have been struck down in court.
Boeing has been under increased scrutiny ever since a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in mid-flight.
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American Airlines is introducing a new fleet of planes at its New York hub.The carrier will add the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to a report from The Points Guy. The publication identified the airline’s plans through Cirium schedules, and subsequently confirmed the news with an airline spokespersonThe new 285-seat plans will be serving American’s New York to New Delhi route beginning October 27. The new plan will replace Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently flying between New York and New Delhi.American Airlines plans to add several Dreamliners to its New York-based fleet in conjunction with expanding the number of pilots it has operating from New York.“This weekend, American Airlines adjusted the aircraft type operating between New York (JFK) and New Delhi (DEL) starting in October. We will continue to offer daily nonstop service on this route as we optimize our network and fleet,” an airline spokesperson told The Points Guy in a statement.About 30 Dreamliners will be added to American Airline’s stable of planes over the coming years, according to The Points Guy. The first Dreamliner anticipated to come online later this year. The planes contain 51 Flagship Business suites, 32 premium economy seats, 18 Main Cabin Extra economy seats and 143 standard economy seats.