Executives for JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines met with Justice Department officials Wednesday in a final bid to persuade the antitrust agency to approve their $3.8b merger, said people familiar with the matter. The agency is expected to decide whether to challenge the deal in the next several weeks, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a pending probe. A meeting between the companies and the Justice Department’s top antitrust officials — who make the final call on whether to file a case — is one of the last steps before a lawsuit or a settlement is filed, often referred to as a “last-rites” meeting. The agency, which has taken a more aggressive approach to mergers under President Joe Biden, is concerned the Spirit acquisition would eliminate a low-cost carrier, removing downward pressure on prices for all customers, even those who don’t frequently travel on discount airlines. JetBlue has offered to shed Spirit assets in Boston, New York and some parts of Florida to help secure federal support. The carrier confirmed that it’s in talks to sell those assets to other airlines on Friday, adding that any agreement would be contingent on the merger closing. The airlines have acknowledged an antitrust challenge was possible; Spirit said last year while it was fending offers from both JetBlue and Frontier Group Holdings Inc. that a JetBlue deal could raise antitrust concerns. As a result, the merger agreement was crafted to allow time for at least nine months of litigation ahead of the deal deadline in 2024. The lawsuit would mark the second against JetBlue by Biden’s antitrust lawyers, who are also seeking to unwind the airline’s alliance in the US Northeast with American Airlines Group Inc. A judge has yet to issue a decision in that case following a trial last year.<br/>
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Citing gross managerial incompetence at JetBlue Airways, massive economic harms that would befall frontline workers, and historical precedence, the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is calling on the Departments of Justice and Transportation to take steps necessary to prevent the hostile acquisition of Spirit Airlines by JetBlue Airways. In a letter sent today to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the country’s largest airline union warns of significant harm to the traveling public and frontline airline workers should the two low-cost carriers combine. “We have yet to see a credible argument that a consolidated JetBlue/Spirit will enhance competition in the domestic airline industry. Workers and passengers will be harmed, just as they have been in many past airline consolidations, as the new airline follows the business practices, pricing strategies, and labor cost-cutting practices previously combined carriers have undergone. DOJ and DOT should not reward such behavior by approving yet another monopoly,” the letter states. Specifically, the letter details significant and undue burdens a merger of this kind would place on frontline workers at both JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, including the possibility that hard-fought collective bargaining agreements—which also enhance the customer experience—may be at risk. The union further warns that more than 1,300 workers at JetBlue headquarters and as many as 8,000 frontline workers based in New York could face future displacement or job loss from the change.<br/>
Aer Lingus has urged Dublin Airport and its European counterparts to “learn” from last year when delays caused havoc for travellers as the airline looks to capitalise on pent-up demand for travel while it continues its recovery from the damage wrought by the Covid-19 crisis. Surging passenger numbers combined with labour shortages caused significant delays at Dublin Airport last summer, catapulting the airlines and the airport into a political storm. Almost 1,000 people missed flights on the last Sunday in May. Aer Lingus’s parent, International Airlines Group, published its full year results for 2022 on Friday. They show Aer Lingus recorded an operating profit of E45m, bouncing back from a loss E338m in 2021. However, the results show the airline’s bottom line was still significantly behind pre-Covid 2019 when profits had hit E276m. Speaking on a conference call after the results were released, Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton said she was expecting Dublin Airport, as well as others around Europe, to be better prepared this year. “We’ll be ready,” she said, noting the airline brought on an additional 1,000 staff last year.<br/>
El Al Israel Airlines said it would on Sunday become the first Israeli national carrier to use a new corridor over Saudi Arabia and Oman, after Muscat last week joined Riyadh in allowing Israeli civilian overflights. El Al Flight 083, departing Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in the evening, will take around eight hours to reach Bangkok - two and a half hours less than previously, the company said. "El Al is proud to be the first Israeli airline to fly over the skies of Saudi Arabia and Oman and take an active part in the State of Israel's history," CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said.<br/>
India's SpiceJet reported a 33% surge in third-quarter passenger revenue on Friday as the low-cost carrier flew more customers at higher fares amid a boom in travel demand, sending shares up 13% to a two-month high. The results come as the cash-strapped airline looks to raise capital with competition heating up in the industry. A rebound in passenger travel ensured strength in revenue for airlines like SpiceJet and rival IndiGo (INGL.NS). For the quarter ended Dec. 31, SpiceJet's passenger revenue surged 33% as yields, a proxy for airfares, jumped 21%. That helped offset a sharp decline in revenue from its freight and logistics business. Overall revenue was up 2.5% at 23.15b rupees. "There are renewed signs of recovery and some very positive developments and restructuring initiatives in the immediate offing that would significantly strengthen and de-leverage our balance sheet," Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, said in a statement.<br/>