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 by the Department of Justice regarding their "Northeast Alliance," scheduling a trial for September 26.
The DOJ alleges the alliance is an anticompetitive "de facto merger" that harms competition in major Northeast airports.
Separately, JetBlue is vigorously pursuing an acquisition of Spirit Airlines, which Spirit has resisted, partly due to concerns about similar antitrust scrutiny.
JetBlue's sweetened offer led Spirit to delay its shareholder vote on a preferred merger with Frontier Airlines until June 30.

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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.