JetBlue Was Robbed When Federal Judge Blocked Spirit Merger

JetBlue’s week of savings is nearly over, but the airline is bringing back its anniversary airfare sale for one more day. 

JetBlue is turning 24 years old, and to celebrate, its offering a week of deals starting with a one-day-only fare sale with tickets going for as low as $49.

Frontier Airlines is courting a new class of travelers.

Spirit Airlines has been flying to Cancun for two decades, and is celebrating the milestone with an anniversary sale that has flights starting at just $79.

It’s been a rough few years for Spirit Airlines. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 31. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has submitted comments to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would prohibit unfair or deceptive practices relating to fees for goods or services.Focusing specifically on junk fees often charged by hotels and other short-term lodging services that result in a misleading total cost, ASTA expressed support for transparency."As an advocate for not only travel agencies and individual advisors but also the millions of consumers who rely on our members’ services, ASTA believes that the rule as proposed would greatly benefit consumers of hotel and other short-term lodging services, and it is in that context that ASTA has the greatest interest in the proposed rulemaking," the organization said in a letter signed by Peter N. Lobasso, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, ASTA."While charging mandatory resort fees has come under greater scrutiny in recent years, up until now predominantly by regulators and enforcement agencies at the state level, the practice remains common in the industry.""Moreover, the manner in which resort fees, also alternatively referred to by hoteliers as 'amenity fees' or 'destination fees,' among other terms commonly used, are disclosed to consumers is highly inconsistent," ASTA added. "And, as many hotel properties are independently owned and operated franchises, there is little uniformity in this regard even among hotels doing business under the same brand name."The organization is calling for uniform application of the full disclosure obligation."ASTA strongly believes that all consumers, regardless of where or how they choose to book their travel, have a right to expect that hotels, as well as OTAs, short-term rental intermediaries and other distributors of lodging services, provide complete pricing information, exclusive of any Government Charges, upfront in a transparent manner to permit meaningful comparison shopping. Moreover, we are of the opinion that the full disclosure obligation should apply uniformly irrespective of the distribution channel or medium used by the consumer when booking a hotel room."ASTA also asked for clarity regarding proposed penalty provisions in the context of intermediated transactions."As a matter of fairness, we believe intermediaries that reasonably rely on erroneous information provided by the entity charging the fee should be relieved of liability for the error. To that end, ASTA respectfully requests that the Final Rule include either an outright exemption or a 'safe harbor' mechanism to protect an innocent third-party seller from enforcement action in this scenario."

After the stinging losses of the Northeast Alliance and a merger with Spirit Airlines, JetBlue is now focused on other ways to achieve profitability. 

JetBlue is coming full circle.

A pair of JetBlue aircraft collided with each other on the tarmac during the de-icing process at Boston's Logan International Airport early Thursday morning, Boston 25 News reported.No injuries were reported but both planes sustained damage when one plane's winglet made contact with the other's tail section.Both JetBlue and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that they will investigate the incident."Safety is JetBlue's priority, and we will work to determine how and why this incident occurred," JetBlue said in a statement."JetBlue Flight 777, an Airbus A321neo's left winglet struck the right horizontal stabilizer of JetBlue Flight 551, an Airbus A321, around 6:40 a.m., local time on Thursday, February 8, while on the deicing pad at Boston Logan International Airport," the agency added.

Maybe the analysts were wrong.

Spirit Airlines is expanding its presence in South Carolina, adding flights from Charleston to Boston and New York City this spring.