Complaint Alleges that Proposed Hostile Takeover by JetBlue Would Limit Competition and Harm Consumers
BALTIMORE, MD (April 3, 2023) – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit Airlines, alleging that this deal would decrease competition and could increase prices and reduce choice for fliers.
“In the airline industry, competition benefits consumers by keeping travel costs affordable,” said Attorney General Brown. “The Court should block this merger to protect choice and access to air travel for Marylanders, especially cost-conscious fliers, who may already face limited options and amenities and depend on lower fares to be able to travel at all.”
JetBlue is proposing a $3.8 billion takeover of Spirit Airlines. Spirit is the largest “ultra low-cost,” and fastest-growing, carrier in the United States. Like JetBlue, its network is focused on the eastern half of the United States, and its routes also reach the Caribbean and Latin America. When it offers flights to and from certain destinations, other airlines often end up lowering the cost of their own flights as a result, which gives customers more affordable flying options. The complaint asserts that the acquisition would harm consumers seeking affordable air travel, including by causing higher prices for passengers flying in to or out of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. If JetBlue buys Spirit, it will create a larger airline that has less incentive to offer cheap flights, making it easier for all airlines to increase their prices.
In filing the complaint, Attorney General Brown joins the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, North Carolina, California, and Connecticut.
BALTIMORE, MD (April 3, 2023) – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit Airlines, alleging that this deal would decrease competition and could increase prices and reduce choice for fliers.
“In the airline industry, competition benefits consumers by keeping travel costs affordable,” said Attorney General Brown. “The Court should block this merger to protect choice and access to air travel for Marylanders, especially cost-conscious fliers, who may already face limited options and amenities and depend on lower fares to be able to travel at all.”
JetBlue is proposing a $3.8 billion takeover of Spirit Airlines. Spirit is the largest “ultra low-cost,” and fastest-growing, carrier in the United States. Like JetBlue, its network is focused on the eastern half of the United States, and its routes also reach the Caribbean and Latin America. When it offers flights to and from certain destinations, other airlines often end up lowering the cost of their own flights as a result, which gives customers more affordable flying options. The complaint asserts that the acquisition would harm consumers seeking affordable air travel, including by causing higher prices for passengers flying in to or out of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. If JetBlue buys Spirit, it will create a larger airline that has less incentive to offer cheap flights, making it easier for all airlines to increase their prices.
In filing the complaint, Attorney General Brown joins the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, North Carolina, California, and Connecticut.