Skift Take
Massachusetts District Court Judge William Young delivered some notable lines in his 109-page ruling blocking the merger between JetBlue and Spirit.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the proposed $3.8 billion merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, the first major U.S. airline merger to be rejected in 20 years.
The merger would have created the fifth-largest U.S. airline and JetBlue planned to convert Spirit’s fleet to fit its interior style, meaning the combined airline would have fewer seats on board.
During the trial, the Justice Department argued that those fewer seats would lead to higher airfares, and the loss of Spirit as the country’s largest ultra-low-cost carrier would harm price-sensitive consumers.
JetBlue, on the other hand, said it needed the merger to remain competitive against the “Big Four” airlines — American, Delta, United and Southwest — which make up around 80% of the U.S. market.
By the end of the month-long trial, Massachusetts District Court Judge William Young took the Justice Department’s side.
In the 109-page ruling, Young delivered some notable lines — here are seven of them that sum up the decision to block the JetBlue-Spirit merger:
“Spirit is a small airline. But ther