Judge Refuses To Dismiss DOJ’s Antitrust Suit Against JetBlue and American Airlines

The government’s lawsuit attempting to end the airlines’ Northeast Alliance will go to court in September.

Friday, June 10, 2022 at 04:46 PM ET

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American Airlines and JetBlue airplanes on the tarmac at the Cyril E. King Airport located at Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. [File Photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A U.S. District Judge rejected JetBlue and American Airlines' motion to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice concerning their "Northeast Alliance."
The lawsuit, which alleges the alliance is anticompetitive and seeks its unwinding, will proceed to trial on September 26, after the judge found the DOJ's concerns plausible.
Separately, JetBlue is aggressively pursuing an acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a bid Spirit has resisted, partly due to concerns about potential antitrust implications stemming from JetBlue's ongoing legal challenges.

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U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin rejected a joint bid by JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) and American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) earlier this week to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought against them by the Department of Justice and attorney generals of six states—Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

This means the DOJ will have its day in court against the two airlines come September 26, when they seek to have the companies unwind their Northeast Alliance, which the DOJ has said is anticompetitive.