U.S. Expected to Block JetBlue-Spirit Merger: Report

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.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration expects the number of travelers passing through airport checkpoints to beat, if only slightly, the record of 262 million set four years ago.

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.

H​urricane Idalia is barreling toward the Florida Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane on Wednesday and disrupting travel up and down the coast.

The U.S.-based, ultra-low-cost carrier in Colombia delivers affordable, nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO).

There is a shortage of a critical skilled labor group needed to keep America’s airlines flying: Pilots, particularly captains, are in short supply and that’s resulting in fewer flights to some of the smallest cities across the country.

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.

JetBlue Airways will land on the European continent next summer with new flights to Paris.

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.

Hydrogen-powered flight is one step closer to reality. Universal Hydrogen, which is developing a hydrogen fuel-cell powered commercial aircraft engine, has a green light from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to begin test flights.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, February 14. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.