JetBlue sued by US government over attempted merger with Spirit

The US Justice Department has moved to block the attempted $3.8bn merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. The merger, if completed, “would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides—and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry—and leave tens of millions of travellers to face higher fares and fewer options,” the department claimed in a filing to a Massachusetts court and in a subsequent statement. Spirit Airlines said in early February that it expected the department to file a suit on the matter within about 30 days. Many in the industry had expected the department to try to