US carriers JetBlue and Spirit filed an appeal in federal court yesterday seeking to reverse a judge’s decision to block their planned merger.

The airlines “hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit” against Tuesday’s ruling, a notice of appeal filed with the court read.

The merger, if approved, would create the fifth-largest airline in the US.

US district judge William Young rejected the plan after the Justice Department last year sued to block the merger, noting the move would hurt consumers and violate antitrust law.

Lawyers for the airlines had argued the tie-up stood to benefit customers “by bringing low fares and great service” to more markets, and would boost their ability to compete with dominant US carriers.

But President Joe Biden and US Attorney-General Merrick Garland instead called Young’s ruling a “victory” for American consumers.

JetBlue’s bid to acquire low-cost Spirit was announced in July 2022 after several months of twists and turns in the volatile airline industry, with JetBlue’s offer of US$3.8 billion (RM17.9 billion) prevailing in a bidding war with competitor Frontier.

Should the merger go through, the new entity would rank behind the “big four” – American, United, Delta and Southwest airlines – in number of seats offered.

Figures provided by JetBlue and Spirit at the time showed it would hold roughly a 9% share of the US market. – AFP, January 20, 2024.