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In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the partnership "substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel." American is the largest U.S. airline by fleet size and low-cost carrier JetBlue is the sixth-largest. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The judge gave the airlines 30 days to end the alliance. TD Cowen analyst Helane Becker said she believes the American JetBlue ruling "has negative implications for the JetBlue/Spirit merger."

☆ US weighs suit against Korean Air’s planned acquisition of Asiana -Politico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is considering suing to block Korean Air's (003490.KS) planned acquisition of Asiana Airlines (020560.KS), Politico reported on Thursday. In response to the report, Korean Air said the Justice Department had not made any official decision, adding the South Korean airline would continue its dialogue with the U.S. government until a final decision is made. "Korean Air has made, and continues to make, every effort to obtain all necessary approvals," the company said in a statement to Reuters. EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday that Korean Air Lines' proposed acquisition of rival Asiana may restrict competition in passenger and cargo air transport services between Europe and South Korea. The merger between South Korea's no.1 and no.2 airlines would see Korean Air become the biggest shareholder in indebted Asiana.

☆ Justice Department wins lawsuit to undo JetBlue, American Airlines partnership in the Northeast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An American Airlines plane takes off near a parked JetBlue plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A federal judge on Friday ordered American Airlines and JetBlue Airways to end their partnership in the Northeast, a win for the Justice Department after it sued to undo the alliance arguing it was anti-competitive. The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleged that the airlines' alliance was effectively a merger that would hurt consumers by driving up fares. Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines and New York-based JetBlue Airways argued they needed the so-called Northeast Alliance to better compete with other large carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in congested airports in the region. Undoing the partnership would be difficult, especially during the peak summer travel season, which airlines have already sold tickets for.

☆ Justice Department wins lawsuit to end JetBlue and American Airlines alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —American Airlines and JetBlue Airways have to break up their alliance on Northeast US flight routes, a US District Court judge ordered Friday. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of the the Justice Department, giving the Biden administration a victory in its years-long lawsuit against the airlines’ collaboration. The airlines have 30 days to end their partnership, Sorokin ruled – just as the busy summer travel season kicks off. The Justice Department also alleged the two airlines shared revenues earned at these airports, eliminating their incentives to compete with one another. CNN has reached out to American Airlines, JetBlue and the Justice Department for comment.

☆ Factbox: Pilots, airlines seek to strike new contracts ahead of peak travel season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO (LUV.N):The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) in May said its members at the company approved a strike mandate. It added that 98% of its members participated in the vote and 99% voted in favor of authorizing a strike. UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC (UAL.O):Last year, ALPA said 94% of the nearly 10,000 United Airlines pilots voted to reject a contract offer. SPIRIT AIRLINES INC (SAVE.N):In January, ALPA said pilots at Spirit Airlines voted to ratify a new contract. More than 97% of the union members took part in the vote and 99% of them authorized union leaders to call a strike, if needed.

☆ A federal judge just told American and JetBlue to undo the Northeast Alliance in 30 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US Department of Justice has won its antitrust lawsuit against JetBlue Airways and American Airlines. Judge Leo Sorokin ruled the pair has 30 days to undo their powerful Northeast Alliance. It looks like the controversial partial union of JetBlue Airways and American Airlines may be over. According to Judge Sorokin, JetBlue and American have 30 days to undo their alliance, meaning they cannot work together to coordinate their fares or routes. Both airlines have already sold tickets, and the unraveling could cause a headache for JetBlue, American, and their customers.

☆ Spirit Airlines 'sincerely apologizes' after refusing to let a Puerto Rican family on a domestic US flight without a passport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spirit Airlines apologized to a Puerto Rican family after refusing to let them fly, CBS News reported. A Puerto Rican family traveling from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico was stopped from boarding a Spirit Airlines flight because the parents' child did not have a US passport. You learn that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S.A. in the 3rd Grade," one Twitter user wrote. Those born in Puerto Rico are US citizens, although Puerto Ricans cannot vote in US presidential elections. Rights groups have urged for more equal protections for residents of Puerto Rico under the US Constitution.

☆ US airline passengers are getting increasingly frustrated. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Air travel has bounced back after its pandemic-induced slump, but that doesn’t mean passengers are feeling good about it. North American travelers are frustrated with high ticket prices, staffing shortages and reduced routes, according to consumer research company J.D. Power’s 2023 North American Airline Satisfaction Study. Unsatisfied passengersDelta Air Lines ranked number one for premium economy passengers, number two for economy passengers and number two for first class and business class travelers. American Airlines

☆ J.D. Power ranked airlines across 3 fare classes according to its annual customer satisfaction survey — see the results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines scored the highest among 11 North American carriers. Of the 11 carriers ranked, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines earned the top spot for each respective category. Courtesy of JetBlueJetBlue Airways (893) Delta Air Lines (865) United Airlines (848) Alaska Airlines (833) Air Canada (830) American Airlines (826)Segment Average: 846Premium EconomyDelta Premium Select. Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines (848) JetBlue Airways (840) Alaska Airlines (823) American Airlines (821) Air Canada (797) United Airlines (784)Segment Average: 820Economy/Basic EconomySouthwest Airlines cabin. Jimmy Rooney/ShutterstockSouthwest Airlines (827) Delta Air Lines (801) JetBlue Airways (800) Alaska Airlines (781) WestJet (777) Allegiant Air (775) United Airlines (770) Air Canada (765) American Airlines (764) Spirit Airlines (727) Frontier Airlines (705)Segment Average: 782

☆ JetBlue adds incremental perks like early boarding and booze to keep travelers reaching for status
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JetBlue Airways has unveiled new perks for less-frequent flyers who are striving for elite status, the latest carrier to rethink its loyalty program to reflect shifting travel habits. Other changes include:JetBlue breaking up its elite Mosaic status into four levels, with benefits corresponding to each. To earn level 1 of that program travelers will need 50 tiles, and that comes with benefits like access to seats with extra legroom at check-in and same-day flight changes. JetBlue is also offering perks when a customer moves up a level of elite status like pet-fee waivers or a $99 credit card statement credit. American Airlines late last year, for example, raised the spending threshold required for customers to earn elite status.

☆ Why you don’t have to worry about a US airline strike disrupting your summer travel plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —American Airlines pilots voted to go on strike Monday. Southwest pilots are holding a strike vote as well. Many unions have had members participate in informational pickets at major airports, at American pilots did Monday. The last time a major airline was grounded by a strike was 25 years ago when Northwest Airlines pilots went on strike for two weeks. But most negotiations are settled, even after a strike vote, without a work stoppage.

☆ JetBlue posts quarterly loss but forecasts profit thanks to strong travel demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JetBlue Airways posted a loss for the first three months of the year but joined other carriers in forecasting a profit for the second quarter thanks to strong travel demand. Here's how JetBlue performed in the first quarter compared with Wall Street expectations based on Refinitiv consensus estimates:Adjusted loss per share: 34 cents vs. 38 cents expected. 34 cents vs. 38 cents expected. Revenue: $2.33 billion vs. $2.32 billion expected. Adjusting for one-time items, JetBlue had a loss of $111 million, or 34 cents per share, better than the loss of 38 cents a share analysts expected.

☆ Help! Spirit Airlines Left Us Behind in Guatemala City
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Seth Kugel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Dear Tripped Up,My two sons and I checked in at the Guatemala City airport three hours before the first leg of our return flight to Detroit. When we returned to our gate at 3:40, we were told the plane had been readied earlier than expected and the doors had closed. The gate staff said it would be three days before another flight was available, and they refused to book us on another airline. We eventually received a partial $297 credit from Spirit, but we want them to reimburse us for the JetBlue flight, since they should have alerted us when the departure time was again revised. “They always tell you not to go too far,” said one wizened veteran, a consultant who flies nearly every week.

☆ California, three other states join U.S. bid to stop JetBlue-Spirit merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - California and three other states on Friday joined the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit aimed at preventing JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) from buying rival discount carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) for $3.8 billion. In addition to California, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina signed on to the lawsuit filed in early March. "We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state law enforcement partners to stop JetBlue from eliminating its rival, Spirit," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki said in a statement. Adding state attorneys general to the lawsuit could mean extra staffing for litigation, and additional expertise regarding potential effects of the deal on particular states. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ More States Join Antitrust Lawsuit to Block JetBlue, Spirit Merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Denny Jacob | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Attorneys general from California, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina on Friday joined an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue Airways Corp.’s takeover of Spirit Airlines Inc.“This merger could decrease competition in air travel, leading to fewer flight options and increased costs for travelers,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein . “A merger might benefit the airlines, but it could harm their customers.”

Some experimenting proves that the Citi Travel Portal is far from perfect, though it has the potential to save you money. Hotel perks favor the Citi Travel PortalCredit card discountsCertain Citi credit cards come with hotel discounts when booking through the Citi Travel Portal. But Citi Premier® Card cardholders will get $100 off any hotel stay of $500 or more booked through the Citi Travel Portal once per year. The Citi Travel Portal may still be more expensive — even after the Citi Premier® Card $100 discount. What you need to know about the Citi Travel PortalThe Citi Travel Portal will most benefit those with Citi credit cards that offer cardmember-exclusive perks such as the Citi Premier® Card's annual $100 hotel discount on reservations costing $500 or more.

☆ These are the best and worst US airlines for on-time performance in 2022, according to DOT data — see the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Department of Transportation's list of airlines' on-time performance was published Thursday. Every airline had a worse on-time performance rate in 2022 compared to 2021. But, the Dallas-based carrier was still the worst-performing company among the Big Four, which also includes American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta. Take a closer look at the best and worst airlines for on-time performance for 2022:10. Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines Boeing 737-900ER aircraft Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesRate: 82.14%Rate in 2021: 88.22%

☆ Which airlines had the best on-time performance in 2022? Delta led the pack — see the rest of the list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ 'PayPal Mafia' member says Google and Meta intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"PayPal Mafia" member says Google and Meta "do fake work." The companies over-hired thousands of employees to fulfill a "vanity metric," said investor Keith Rabois. He's part of the infamous PayPal cohort (pictured above — he's number nine) that went on to play influential roles at other major tech companies. Rabois estimates that Facebook parent company Meta and Google each have thousands of employees who don't do much. He even suspects that Google intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.

JetBlue will face "an uphill battle" as it fights the government," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. "If I'm JetBlue, that's where I focus right now, developing that divestiture offer and lining up a buyer to 'litigate the fix,'" said Dryden. Whatever arguments JetBlue uses, a court fight could last six to eight months and cost tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees, legal experts said. Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, said the government's complaint "shows that there is meaningful competition between Spirit and JetBlue." "JetBlue brags about the 'JetBlue effect,' where they enter a market and fares tend to go down," he said.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston was randomly assigned the case despite the Justice Department's contention that the lawsuit should be heard by another judge who is overseeing a separate antitrust case involving JetBlue. The Justice Department on Tuesday argued that Sorokin should hear the Spirit case as well because both involved "an assessment of JetBlue's network plans, aircraft orders and configurations, and pricing strategy." Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, on Wednesday in a brief order said the Spirit case was wrongly assigned to him because it was "incorrectly marked as related and thus not randomly assigned." The Justice Department and JetBlue declined to comment. In the case filed on Tuesday, the Justice Department said the merger of JetBlue and Spirit would "combine two especially close and fierce head-to-head competitors."

☆ JetBlue CEO defends Spirit deal, says passengers will save money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - JetBlue (JBLU.O) Chief Executive Robin Hayes strongly defended the airline’s $3.8 billion plan to buy ultra-low cost carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) despite the Justice Department's lawsuit Tuesday challenging the deal. "Of course we’re going to continue to offer low fares,” Hayes told Reuters in an interview. If the merger was completed "JetBlue would likely increase prices on every route where Spirit flies today," it said. JetBlue reached a deal with the Florida Attorney General Monday to boost seats on flights to the state by 50% over seven years. "A bigger JetBlue now in Florida means all the airlines flying to Florida to compete with us are going to lower their fares," Hayes said.

☆ JetBlue CEO defends Spirit deal, insists passengers will save money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - JetBlue (JBLU.O) Chief Executive Robin Hayes strongly defended the airline’s $3.8 billion plan to buy Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) despite the Justice Department's lawsuit Tuesday challenging the deal. "Of course we’re going to continue to offer low fares,” Hayes told Reuters in an interview. "This argument that we'll take seats outs and fares are going to go up. We’re going to put capacity back," by doing things such as using larger planes on existing routes and by flying planes more often. He insisted that JetBlue will still serve Spirit customers buying very low-cost tickets after a merger and rejected the idea that fares will go up.

☆ Analysis: US lawsuit to block JetBlue-Spirit merger casts chill over future airline deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CHICAGO, March 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal lawsuit to block JetBlue Airways Corp's (JBLU.O) purchase of Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N) has raised hurdles for future airline deals, making it harder for companies to pursue growth and manage costs. Mergers and acquisitions are a time-honored way for companies to both boost revenue and profit through cost cutting. But the DOJ lawsuit could send a chill through airline boardrooms, said Addison Schonland, partner at consulting firm AirInsight. American Airlines (AAL.O), United Airlines (UAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) control 80% of the domestic market. The lawsuit against the JetBlue-Spirit deal was widely expected because of the Biden administration's crackdown on large deals between publicly listed companies, analysts said.

☆ Justice Department Sues to Block JetBlue-Spirit Merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Dave Michaels | Andrew Tangel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue Airways Corp. from merging with Spirit Airlines Inc., arguing the deal would stifle competition and lead to higher fares. The DOJ filed its lawsuit Tuesday in Massachusetts federal court. The states of New York and Massachusetts and the government of the District of Columbia are also plaintiffs on the civil case, which says the merger would eliminate Spirit as a low-cost competitor to the major carriers.

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