JetBlue Will Sell Spirit’s Newark and Boston Assets to Allegiant
JetBlue Airways and Allegiant today announced that the airlines have entered into a definitive agreement under which JetBlue will transfer to Allegiant all of the holdings of Spirit Airlines at Boston Logan International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
JetBlue will also turn over up to five gates and related ground facilities at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to promote ultra-low-cost carrier growth.
The Justice Department, joined by several state attorneys general, sued in March seeking to block JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit, alleging the deal would “lead to higher fares and fewer seats, harming millions of consumers on hundreds of routes.” That was also confirmed by leaked information that revealed JetBlue would raise Spirit fares by up to 40%.
On June 1, JetBlue announced that it will divest all of Spirit’s holdings at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Frontier. Together, these divestitures are part of JetBlue’s voluntary upfront commitments included in the merger agreement with Spirit and are conditioned on the closing of the JetBlue-Spirit transaction.
