JetBlue Airways said on Friday that it might back out of a $3.8b acquisition of Spirit Airlines after a federal judge blocked the deal. The announcement came just a week after JetBlue and Spirit had said they would appeal the decision, which was made in an antitrust case brought by the Justice Department. In a regulatory filing on Friday, JetBlue said the deal could be terminated after Sunday if certain conditions weren’t met. Spirit said in its own filing that it disagreed with JetBlue and believed “there is no basis for terminating” the deal. A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger on Jan. 16, ruling that Spirit plays an important role in keeping airline fares low and that a takeover by JetBlue would hurt travelers. The ruling was a win for the Justice Department, which under President Biden has sought to limit corporate consolidation across the economy. The agreement has an expiration date of Jan. 28, and if certain conditions are met that date is automatically extended to July 24. JetBlue appears to be arguing that Spirit has not met its end of the bargain, allowing JetBlue to walk away from the deal on or after Sunday. As part of the merger agreement, JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit and its shareholders a combined $470m if regulators blocked the deal. Some legal experts said JetBlue’s filing on Friday suggested that the company might ultimately seek to dispute the $470m breakup fee. That fee was instrumental in getting Spirit to agree to JetBlue’s offer and walk away from a proposed deal with Frontier Airlines. “Basically, JetBlue gambled,” said Dylan Carson, a former antitrust lawyer at the Justice Department who is now at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Spirit is sure to contest in court any effort by JetBlue to avoid paying the breakup fee.<br/>
unaligned
Following more than a month of delays, Mesa Air Group on 26 January filed its fiscal Q4 earnings report – potentially helping it avoid being de-listed from the US Nasdaq stock exchange. The parent of US regional carrier Mesa Airlines received a 4 January notice from US authorities that it had failed to comply with listing rules because it hadn’t filed an end-of-year report for the period ending 30 September. Now, the company reports losing $120m during the fiscal year ending on that date, compared with a $183m loss in the equivalent prior period. It generated $498m in revenue, down from $531m in fiscal 2022. Mesa had originally scheduled its Q4 earnings call for 14 December. On that date, it submitted a notification of late filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which automatically granted the company a 15-day extension. At the time, the company said it expected to file its results “no later” than the 29 December deadline, and that it would soon announce a new date for its conference call. But that date passed without a fiscal Q4 report from Mesa. It is unclear whether the company’s 26 January filing effectively averts Mesa’s de-listing from the stock exchange. Mesa did not immeditely respond to a query about its status of compliance with the Nasdaq’s rules. Mesa recently revealed that the delay was related to a “$30m factual balance sheet mis-statement”, according to the company’s financial filings. <br/>
US regional carrier Silver Airways has entered a codeshare agreement with Brazil’s Azul, through which the carriers will sell each other’s flights as their own. ”Customers can purchase tickets for flights operated by Silver Airways in the United States directly through Azul’s sales channels”, the carriers said on 25 January. Silver’s regional network will connect to Azul’s wider network of domestic Brazilian and international destinations through Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Sao Paulo-headquartered Azul flies to about 150 destinations and operates a fleet of more than 160 aircraft, including narrowbody and widebody Airbus jets, Embraer 195-E2s and ATR turboprops. It flies from Fort Lauderdale and from Orlando to Brazilian cities including Belem, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Manaus and Recife.<br/>
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA filed for bankruptcy protection in the US sooner than it planned after word about the insolvency filing leaked to the media, a lawyer for the low-cost Brazilian airline said in a video-court hearing on Friday. The timing “frankly was not of the debtor’s choosing,” company attorney Evan Fleck told US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn. To prevent creditors from taking actions that could disrupt its assets, management sought court protection in New York on Thursday. By filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, the company is able to block any effort by creditors to seize airplanes or other property. In the US, such insolvency cases allow a company to keep operating while it creates a plan to slash debt and reorganize operations. The Sao Paulo-based company will return to court on Monday to seek approval of a new loan to help it stay in business while in bankruptcy. Gol Linhas has secured $950m in financing from a group of bondholders, according to a statement. The company has grappled with a heavy debt burden and saw investors question its ability to navigate a rebound in the air travel industry across the region. After initially avoiding the fates of pandemic-scarred peers, the carrier last year hired Seabury Capital to help review its debt and other financial obligations. <br/>
Aer Lingus pilots will take their case for a pay increase to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) following a proposal from the company this week. Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) in Aer Lingus voted overwhelmingly against an 8.5% increase tabled by an internal company tribunal two weeks ago. Capt Mark Tighe, the union’s president, wrote on Friday to Adrian Dunne, Aer Lingus COO, agreeing to a proposal that the sides go to the WRC, the State industrial relations body that adjudicates on disputes. Capt Tighe’s letter adds that, based on Aer Lingus’s decision to refer the issue to the commission, the union assumes the company is willing to make “a meaningful offer above what has already been rejected”. He points out that this should include full restoration of pre-pandemic terms and conditions, and take account of inflation and pilot pay increases throughout the industry.<br/>
Ryanair Holdings is seeking to allocate one day of forced leave in Q1 to each pilot to ensure full staffing during the busy summer travel period, setting up a potential clash with cockpit crew resisting the move. The Irish budget carrier said it needs to apportion the day after finding insufficient leave assigned on rosters in the January-March period, according to memos sent to pilots across Europe in December. In a letter to Italy-based Malta Air pilots, Ryanair urged employees to voluntarily apply for more ad hoc leave in Q1 to avoid the company assigning them days instead. The Ryanair Transnational Pilot Group said Ryanair’s move indicates a general pilot shortage as well as “a significant lack of regard and contempt toward pilots,” according to a letter shared on social media site X. The group said pilots should only be allocated forced leave when they have not applied for ad hoc days by a certain date in each quarter, and that Ryanair management is to blame for what it called planning mistakes. “The distribution and allocation of annual leave this winter is fully in compliance with our union-negotiated Collective Labour Agreements and stringent flight time limitations which restrict pilots to flying a maximum of 900 hours in a year, an average of less than 18 hours per week,” a Ryanair spokesperson said.<br/>
El Al Israel Airlines said on Friday it was suspending its route to Johannesburg at the end of March, citing a steep drop in demand after South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the World Court. Israel’s flag carrier flies up to twice weekly nonstop to Johannesburg. “Israelis don’t want to fly to South Africa,” said an El Al spokesperson. “They are cancelling flights and planes are pretty empty... We understand it’s the situation because it was different before. “The fact that the Israelis don’t want to go to South Africa but do want to go to other places helps us decide that we’re pausing that route,” she said. The company also cited the current security situation. UN judges will rule on Friday on South Africa’s request for emergency measures against Israel, including that it halt its military operations in Gaza, over which it faces allegations of state-led genocide at the World Court. After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Islamist group Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted more than 240 others, Israel responded heavily in Hamas-ruled Gaza. More than 25,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.<br/>