JetBlue, Southwest spar over slots in antitrust trial

Senior executives of JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines argued in court Wednesday over JetBlue’s controversial partnership with American Airlines that the Biden administration is seeking the thwart. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told a federal court in Boston the partnership will help his airline grow, accommodate customers whose flights gets canceled, and attract more corporate travelers. Hayes disputed the government’s view that the deal will reduce competition and cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in higher fares. But Southwest’s Andrew Watterson said he was disappointed that the partnership will give American access to valuable JetBlue slots that American once controlled but was forced to surrender to win regulatory approval of a 2013 merger and a separate transaction. “We thought that was outrageous,” said Watterson, who will become chief operating officer at Southwest later this week. The Justice Department, six states and the District of Columbia seek to break up the American-JetBlue partnership in a case that has become a major test of the Biden’s administration’s opposition to mergers and consolidation in key industries. The Transportation Department approved the deal in the final days of the Trump administration.<br/>