JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced on Monday that they would not seek to overturn a court ruling that blocked their planned $3.8b merger. The decision is a big win for the Biden administration, which has sough to limit corporate consolidation. Backing out of the agreement will cost JetBlue. Under the terms of the deal, it has to pay Spirit a breakup fee of $69m and Spirit’s shareholders $400m. A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger on Jan. 16, siding with the Justice Department in determining that the merger would reduce competition and give airlines more leeway to raise ticket prices. The judge, William G. Young of U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, noted that Spirit played a vital role in the market as a low-cost carrier and that travelers would have fewer options if JetBlue absorbed it. The Justice Department hailed the termination of the deal on Monday, calling it “a victory for U.S. travelers who deserve lower prices and better choices.” JetBlue and Spirit had appealed Judge Young’s decision, and JetBlue filed an appellate brief as recently as last week. But the companies appear to have concluded that they would be better off walking away than pursuing an appeal that might not succeed. “We are proud of the work we did with Spirit to lay out a vision to challenge the status quo, but given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines’ interests are better served by moving forward independently,” JetBlue’s CE, Joanna Geraghty, said in a statement on Monday. “We wish the very best going forward to the entire Spirit team.” The decision to terminate the deal was not unexpected. In a securities filing on Jan. 26, JetBlue said it might walk away. Spirit said in its own filing the same day that it believed “there is no basis for terminating” the agreement.<br/>
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SkyWest Airlines will add another 20 aircraft to fly under contract for United Airlines by the end of this year. The St.George, Utah-based regional carrier said on 3 March that it will add 20 Embraer 175s to the United fleet. This is in addition to the 19 new E175s SkyWest had announced last October would be flying for United by the end of 2026. “We’re delighted to continue enhancing our United partnership and pleased that we’re able to deliver on the strong market demand,” Chip Childs, SkyWest CE, says. SkyWest is now expecting delivery of 25 E175s in 2024. All but one will be positioned with United. The final jet will fly on behalf of Delta Air Lines. Seven further aircraft will begin operating for United in 2025, and eight more in 2026, bringing the total to 39 aircraft. The carrier will add one jet for Alaska Airlines in 2025. By the end of 2026, SkyWest is scheduled to operate a total of 278 E175s, the company says. But while the carrier continues to add jets, Childs last month said the carrier is still struggling with pilot recruitment and retention, and is about 2,000 pilots short of market demand. “We have to dig ourselves out of this hole,” he said at on the company’s annual results call. “This is not going to take one year or two years.”<br/>
A $1.2b credit line from the government expected as soon as this month will be key for Brazil’s troubled airlines as they lobby for lower jet fuel costs and for help clamping down on passenger litigation, Azul SA CEO John Peter Rodgerson said. Unlike in the US and Europe, Latin American nations offered little rescue for the sector during the pandemic, leaving the region’s airlines to deal with the crisis on their own. Several buckled: Avianca Holdings SA, Latam Airlines Group SA and Grupo Aeromexico SAB filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA sought protection from creditors in late January after a dozen debt exchanges. Gol’s Chapter 11 filing “changed the dialogue” with the government, Rodgerson said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Sao Paulo offices last week. “Nobody is looking for government aid to get out of the mess.” Azul, Latam and Gol, the country’s three largest carriers, are involved in the talks, and the credit line — of between 4b reais ($807m) and 6b reais ($1.2b) — would be divided among them, according to Rodgerson. Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho, who’s leading the talks within the government, shared the details on size and timing of the aid last week, local media reported.<br/>
EU antitrust regulators last month temporarily halted their investigation into British Airways owner IAG's E400m bid to buy out Air Europa, according to a European Commission update on its site on Monday. The EU competition enforcer had been poised to hit IAG with an antitrust warning regarding the deal in a sign that it wanted the carrier to beef up its package of remedies submitted last month, sources had told Reuters. "We can confirm that on 1 March 2024 the Commission stopped the clock in its investigation into the acquisition of Air Europa by IAG, with effect as of 9 February 2024," a Commission spokesperson said, adding the enforcer had requested certain data. "Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the legal deadline for the Commission’s decision is then adjusted accordingly." The Commission's previous deadline to decide on the deal was June 7. IAG and Air Europa scrapped a previous deal in 2021 after their remedies failed to address EU competition concerns.<br/>
Former Jetstar Asia head Barathan Pasupathi is to return to Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways as its new CE. Pasupathi is to succeed Rohit Ramachandran who is stepping down from the Middle Eastern operator after seven years. He was formerly Jazeera Airways’ CFO from 2007-10 and played a key role in establishing its associated aircraft leasing division Sahaab. Pasupathi takes over the top post at Jazeera on 26 March. “My focus will be to continue the exciting journey that Jazeera has started, making travel accessible and affordable in Kuwait,” he says. Prior to leading Singapore-based Jetstar Asia – of which he had been CFO before his previous term at Jazeera – Pasupathi worked for energy firms Mabanaft and Marquard & Bahls. Jazeera chair Marwan Boodai credits Ramachandran with delivering “solid and robust results” during his period in charge, expanding the carrier’s network, establishing a profitable purpose-built terminal, and steering the airline through the pandemic.<br/>
AirAsia’s Cambodian unit is expected to commence operations in the middle of the year, six months later than originally planned, as the airline group mulls launching another carrier in the region. In brief remarks following the release of parent Capital A’s annual results, AirAsia Aviation did not say where it is intends to base its newest unit. The group has previously stated that it will focus on Southeast Asian countries. It is not the first time the airline group has talked up new units in Southeast Asia. In February 2023, Capital A chief Tony Fernandes said the group was looking at at least two more airlines in the region, with details to emerge by end-2024. Meanwhile, AirAsia Cambodia – the group’s fifth airline unit – was originally to have launched operations by end-2023. Neither the carrier nor the AirAsia group indicated reasons for the delay. The AirAsia group holds a 51% shareholding in the new carrier, while Cambodian firm Sivilai Asia accounts for the remainder. Separately, AirAsia, which has operating units in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, also expects to double down on expanding operations to India and China, taking advantage of strong demand, as well as visa-free arrangements. Malaysia and Thailand eased visa requirements for Chinese and Indian visitors in 2023, in a bid to lure travellers from the two mega-economies. AirAsia has been bullish about rebuilding capacity to Mainland China following the easing of ‘zero-Covid’ restrictions.<br/>