A U.S. Court of Appeals set a June date to hear an appeal from JetBlue and Spirit Airlines after the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocked the two airlines’ merger last month.
“We contemplate argument during the court’s June sitting,” the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit’s order reads. “Extensions will be strongly disfavored.”
In Friday’s ruling, the appellate court ordered the airlines to file their pre-hearing briefs by Feb. 26, while the plaintiff’s response is due April 11, and the airlines’ reply is due April 25.
JetBlue and Spirit Airlines requested an expedited hearing on the case blocking their proposed merger so that a decision can be ruled on before the deadline in July provided by their merger agreement. Spirit is a small airline compared to JetBlue, the nation’s sixth-largest airline by revenue, but when JetBlue agreed to buy Spirit in 2022, the deal would have created the country’s fifth-largest airline.
In mid-January, a federal judge sided with the Biden administration and blocked the $3.8 billion deal, ruling the merger would violate antitrust laws and hurt consumers.
“There are no ‘bad guys’ in this case,” U.S. District Judge William Young wrote. “The two corporations are — as they are expected to — seeking to maximize shareholder value. The Department of Justice is — as the law requires — speaking for consumers who otherwise would have no voice.”
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DOJ officials said the merger would drive up fares by eliminating Spirit, the nation’s lowest-cost airline based in Miramar, Florida. Jet Blue, a carrier based in New York, disagreed with the ruling, arguing the merger is necessary to compete against its biggest industry rivals.
“We continue to believe that our combination is the best opportunity to increase much-needed competition and choice by bringing low fares and great service to more customers in more markets,” JetBlue officials said in a statement after the ruling.
