The US Transportation Department on Friday denied an exemption request by JetBlue and Spirit to operate under common ownership, citing the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit filed this month seeking to block the deal. JetBlue's planned $3.8b acquisition of ultra-low cost carrier Spirit was announced last July. They then filed an exemption application asking the Transportation Department to permit them to operate under common ownership prior to a requested transfer application that seeks approval to combine and operate international routes under one certificate. The Justice Department on March 7 challenged the deal, saying it would eliminate competition, lead to higher ticket prices, reduce passenger capacity and shrink consumer choices. The Transportation Department said it rejected the exemption request in light of President Joe Biden's executive order that it "coordinate competition efforts, DOJ's (Justice Department) conclusion that the proposed merger would have anti-competitive effects, and the pendency of the federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the transaction." JetBlue said in a statement it believes a court "will recognize the pro-competitive merits of this combination, which will create a national low-fare challenger to the dominant Big Four airlines." The Transportation Department decision on the exemption "does not change that belief or our confidence that we will close the transaction, within our expected timeframe, following completion of the court case," JetBlue added. The Transportation Department said it found the exemption request was premature given the ongoing lawsuit. A federal judge this week set an Oct. 16 trial in the lawsuit. The Justice Department, which sued alongside the states of Massachusetts and New York as well as the District of Columbia, concluded that the deal was "presumptively illegal" and that JetBlue planned to remove 10% to 15% of seats from every Spirit plane.<br/>
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Emirates Airline has a "substantial" amount of ticket sale revenue trapped in Nigeria and has made only slow progress in repatriating blocked funds out of Africa's biggest economy, it said on Friday. A day earlier Nigeria's aviation minister Hadi Sirika told reporters that the Dubai-based carrier had received most of its funds out of Nigeria and had about $35 million that still needed to be released. Emirates declined to say how much was trapped in Nigeria, but a spokesperson said about half of the amount in its backlog was overdue for repatriation and that the process "remains beset with constant delays". Nigeria is withholding $743m in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, the highest amount owed by any nation, global airline industry association IATA said last week. Sirika said on Thursday that the country was aiming to release money from foreign airlines' ticket sales, held up by dollar shortages in the country, but did not provide a timeline. Nigeria is facing severe dollar shortages, forcing many citizens and businesses to seek foreign exchange on the black market, where its naira currency has progressively weakened. President Muhammadu Buhari in February directed the central bank to increase the amount of foreign currency allocated to Emirates after the airline suspended flights to and from Nigeria because it was unable to repatriate funds. The Emirates spokesperson said the carrier had made many concerted efforts to restart flights to Africa's most populous nation since halting them five months ago, but a solution continued to be stalled.<br/>
Emirates is set to operate its Airbus A380s on daily flights to Bali, making it the first carrier to deploy the superjumbo to Indonesia. The Middle Eastern carrier will from 1 June operate its two-class A380s – configured to seat over 600 passengers – on the route, replacing one of the two daily services flown by its Boeing 777-300ERs, which can seat up to 442 passengers. Emirates’ commercial chief Adnan Kazim says: “Bali continues to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in our network and strategic markets in Southeast Asia, and the Emirates A380’s debut in Indonesia underscores our long-standing commitment to its travel and tourism sector.” The airline has a fleet of 118 A380s, with seating capacity of between 484 and 615 seats. Emirates first launched direct flights to Bali in 2015, and also flies twice-daily to Jakarta from Dubai. Faik Fahmi, president-director of Bali Denpasar international airport operator Angkasa Pura I, hails the “historic moment” of the first A380 service. “We welcome the Emirates A380 service, which will operate in early June, and are honoured to be the first airport operator to receive regular commercial flights of the aircraft in the country.<br/>
Israel's transport minister on Sunday approved an aviation deal with Nigeria that will allow non-stop flights between the countries to begin next month for the first time, the ministry said. The agreement, which still needs cabinet approval in Israel, will let carriers from the two countries to operate flights between Tel Aviv and cities in Nigeria, like Lagos and Abuja. It will facilitate a smoother pilgrimage for Christians to the Holy Land, the ministry said. The trip currently requires a stopover, usually in Turkey or Ethiopia. Nigeria's Air Peace will be the first airline to fly directly, operating twice weekly flights beginning April 20, the ministry said. Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev said that Nigeria "maintains close ties with Israel in a wide variety of fields, alongside heavy traffic of pilgrims coming to Israel to visit the holy places in Christianity." Launching direct flights, she said, "will contribute to strengthening of the business and cultural ties between the nations and between the governments."<br/>