Source::AP news
JetBlue’s pending purchase of Spirit Airlines will make matters even worse for travellers. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes was the first witness in the trial in federal district court in Boston over the federal government’s antitrust lawsuit against American and JetBlue.
Hayes testified that regulators had not imposed enough limits on those deals. He contrasted them with the pact between American and JetBlue, which he said involved no cooperation on setting prices.
Lawyers for American and JetBlue countered that the government has presented no evidence that their alliance in place for 18 months now, since it was blessed by the outgoing Trump administration
The Justice Department and six states that have joined its lawsuit plan to call a Georgetown University economist who will testify that the American-JetBlue deal will reduce competition and cost consumers $700 million a year.
The Justice Department is currently examining JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit. The Biden administration has pushed to aggressively enforce antitrust laws, but it lost two major cases last week
“We know how the story ends. Rather than continuing to slug it out, American and JetBlue decided to collaborate rather than to continue competing.” Said William Jones, the lead attorney for the Justice Department.
“Most cases don’t get brought until there is some tangible evidence that the practices are doing harm,” said Daniel Wall, a San Francisco lawyer who is leading America's defence._AP news
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