In court documents, JetBlue says it could raise fares on some routes after buying Spirit Airlines

JetBlue Airways estimates that it could raise fares on some routes by up to 40% if it succeeds in buying Spirit Airlines and eliminating the low-fare carrier as a competitor on those routes. The internal calculations appeared in court filings made earlier this week, and which JetBlue says were not properly redacted. JetBlue said Thursday that information from the filings is being taken out of context to distort the facts. Consumer advocates jumped on the news, saying that the accidental disclosure supports the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit aiming to block JetBlue’s $3.8b purchase of Spirit, the nation’s largest discount airline. Even before the government lawsuit, lawyers for about two dozen consumers sued JetBlue and Spirit last November in U.S. district court in Boston, claiming that the merger would reduce competition and lead to higher prices. Documents filed Tuesday in that case were redacted, but in a way that made it possible to see the hidden information by copying and pasting the text into a new document. The revelation was first reported by Law360, which covers legal news. Law360 told USA Today that the documents are no longer posted publicly. The documents would seem to undercut JetBlue’s argument that consumers would benefit from the merger because the combined airline would be better able to compete against giants like American, Delta and United.<br/>