Trial to determine whether JetBlue can buy Spirit comes to a head

abcnews.go.com:

JetBlue says it needs to buy Spirit Airlines to compete with bigger airlines in a post-Covid travel world

BOSTON — A lawyer for JetBlue Airways said Tuesday that the biggest U.S. airlines are using their size to cement their dominance in a post-pandemic world, making it critical that a federal judge allow JetBlue to buy Spirit Airlines.

The lawyer, Ryan Shores, said JetBlue needs Spirit to be a “viable challenger” to the four airlines that control most of the domestic air-travel market.

“That mandate is even more urgent today,” Shores said during closing arguments in a trial over the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit to block JetBlue's $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit, the nation’s biggest low-fare carrier.

Lawyers for the government were expected to argue that the deal would hurt consumers by eliminating Spirit and its cheaper base fares, leaving fewer options for travelers on a budget. The government sued to block the deal in March.

There is no jury in the trial, which has stretched over several weeks and included testimony by the CEOs of both airlines. No ruling is expected Tuesday from U.S. District Judge William Young.

During the closing arguments, the judge peppered JetBlue and Spirit lawyers with questions. Young, who was nominated for the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, asked Shores how long it would take for consumers to see benefits that JetBlue promises the merger will deliver, such as more competition with the bigger airlines.

The trial represents another test for the Biden administration’s fight against consolidation in the airline industry. Earlier this year, the Justice Department won an antitrust lawsuit and broke up a partnership in New York and Boston between JetBlue and American