AP – JetBlue says it will end a partnership with American Airlines in the Northeast after losing a court fight over the deal, and will instead focus on salvaging its proposed purchase of Spirit Airlines.
JetBlue Airways said on Wednesday that it will not appeal a federal judge’s ruling blocking the deal with American.
With its decision, JetBlue said the United StatesJustice Department should reconsider its opposition to a JetBlue-Spirit combination.
The Justice Department sued to block both the JetBlue-American deal and JetBlue’s agreement to buy Spirit for USD3.8 billion on grounds that they would hurt competition.
The Justice Department won a trial in Boston last fall over the JetBlue-American partnership.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin decided in May that the airlines must end their Northeast Alliance, or NEA, which began in 2021, because it violates US antitrust law.
