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JetBlue Airways Corp. said late Wednesday it plans to unwind a joint venture with American Airlines Group Inc. in airports in the Boston and the New York City areas to focus “even more” on its merger with Spirit Airlines Inc.
In a statement, JetBlue
JBLU,
said it won’t appeal a May court ruling siding with the U.S. Justice Department regarding the JV with American
AAL,
called Northeast Alliance. The unwinding process “will take place over the coming months,” the airline said.
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“We will now turn even more focus to our proposed combination with Spirit, which is the best and most effective opportunity to truly transform the competitive landscape in the U.S. and bring the JetBlue Effect to more routes and markets across the country.”
JetBlue called for the DOJ to “reconsider and support” the merger with ultra-low cost Spirit.
SAVE,
JetBlue is “open to working with the DOJ to address any remaining concerns they have,” it said.
The DOJ sued in March to block the JetBlue and Spirit merger, saying the plan would eliminate competition and stick travelers with higher air fares.
The two airlines last year agreed to combine in a $3.8 billion deal with the aim of creating the fifth-largest airline in the U.S., and came about after JetBlue battled it out for Spirit with Frontier Airlines’ parent Frontier Group Holdings Inc.
ULCC,
American Airlines said in a statement Wednesday that it respects “JetBlue’s decision to focus on its other antitrust and regulatory challenges,” and that it will move forward with an appeal on its own.
“JetBlue has been a great partner, and we will continue to work with them to ensure our mutual customers can travel seamlessly without disruption to their travel plans,” American said.
Shares of Spirit rallied nearly 3% in the after-hours session after the news Wednesday, while JetBlue and American shares were down 1.7% and 0.2% respectively.
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