Spirit and JetBlue planes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2023.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Friday said they’re appealing a federal judge’s ruling earlier this week that blocks the 2 carriers’ planned merger on antitrust grounds.
JetBlue had planned to purchase Spirit for $3.8 billion in a deal struck in 2022. A federal judge on Tuesday, nonetheless, barred that combination, saying it will eliminate the budget carrier and mean higher prices for cost-conscious consumers.
Spirit shares prolonged gains posted in the course of the regular session on Friday, rising greater than 10% in after-hours trading, while JetBlue’s were down barely.
JetBlue said it was appealing the choice “consistent with the necessities of the merger agreement.”
Judge William Young noted in his ruling that JetBlue planned to take seats out of Spirit’s tightly packed planes, and said that removing Spirit from the market would go away price-conscious consumers without that option.
“To those dedicated customers of Spirit, this one’s for you,” he wrote.
Miramar, Florida-based Spirit had been struggling before the ruling with softening travel demand, higher costs and planes grounded for a Pratt & Whitney engine issue. However the judge’s decision drew questions from Wall Street analysts about how Spirit would survive, sending shares tumbling.
Spirit said Friday that it’s attempting to refinance its greater than $1 billion of debt due in September 2025 and issued a sunnier-than-expected financial forecast, helping shares get better.
The U.S. Department of Justice will soon weigh in on one other proposed merger: Alaska and Hawaiian. Analysts said those carriers’ deal doesn’t have the identical challenges because they’ve less route overlap and plan to operate as separate brands.
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