A JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 (left) passes a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 on the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 7, 2022. JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines terminate $3.8 billion offer. The companies merged after a court ruling blocked the merger.
Wilfred Lee/AP
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A JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 (left) passes a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 on the runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 7, 2022. JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines terminate $3.8 billion offer. The companies merged after a court ruling blocked the merger.
Wilfred Lee/AP
Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways are abandoning their merger plans, the companies announced Monday.
A federal judge blocked the merger in January, citing monopoly concerns. The companies said legal obstacles make an acquisition impossible by the July 2024 deadline, despite their goal to combine and become a low-cost competitor to major airlines.
“While we are proud of the work we have done in partnership with Spirit to develop a vision that challenges the status quo, given the hurdles to closing that remain, we believe it would be better to move forward independently,” JetBlue’s CEO said in a statement. “We jointly decided that this would be in the best interest of both airlines,” JetBlue’s CEO said. Joanna Geraghty said. “We wish the entire Spirit team the best of luck in the future.”
JetBlue must pay Spirit $69 million as part of the termination agreement. Spirit Airlines lost about $184 million in the fourth quarter of this year and said it would focus on returning to profitability.
“We are confident that our amazing Spirit team will continue to provide affordable rates and great experiences for our customers,” said Spirit CEO Ted Christie. .