JetBlue and Spirit terminate merger agreement

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have terminated their $3.8bn merger agreement as of March 4, 2024. The companies said that they believed receiving necessary legal and regulatory approvals was unlikely to be made before the merger agreement's expiration date of July 24, 2024. They maintained the belief that the merger would have provided procompetitive benefits. The US Department of Justice had blocked the potential merger in January. ""We believed this merger was worth pursuing because it would have unleashed a national low-fare, high-value competitor to the big four airlines,” said JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty. ""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."" ""Throughout the transaction process, given the regulatory uncertainty, we have always considered the possibility of continuing to operate as a standalone business and have been evaluating and implementing several initiatives that will enable us to bolster profitability,"" said Spirit president and CEO Ted Christie. Spirit added in a statement it remained confident it could return to profitability. JetBlue echoed this with Geraghty adding: ""We have already begun to advance our plan to restore profitability."" As part of the termination, JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million. Spirit stockholders had received approximately $425 million in total prepayments while the merger agreement had been in effect.