The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, creating a new test of President Joe Biden’s aggressive antitrust strategy.
The Justice Department is filing an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue’s $3.8 billion purchase of the low-cost carrier, while the Transportation Department is expected to deny a transfer of Spirit’s airline certificate, arguing that doing so would be against the public interest.
Not long after entering office, Biden fully embraced a progressive push to revitalize antitrust policy and try to reverse 40 years of corporate concentration. The policy represented a break with President Barack Obama’s administration, which followed the laissez-faire approach to mergers that has dominated American government in recent decades. (The Obama administration allowed the most recent airline merger, between US Airways and American Airlines, to proceed in 2013.)
The airline industry has consolidated rapidly since its deregulation in 1978, and now just four airlines ― United, Delta, American and Southwest ― control 82% of the U.S. market, which progressives argue has driven up costs for consumers and hurt smaller metropolitan areas who have seen flight offerings slashed.
Opponents of the merger have focused on how the disappearance of Spirit, which offers much cheaper flights than most of its competitors, could drive up prices in key markets.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in particular, has faced pressure from progressives to block the deal. His potential move is historic, representing the first time the department has blocked a merger since the airlines were deregulated.
