Why The Department Of Justice Wants To Block American Airlines' Deal With JetBlue
Earlier this week. the Department of Justice sued to stop an agreement between Fort Worth-based American Airlines and JetBlue. The deal was designed to help both airlines compete in the northeast. But in court filings, the DOJ claims that the deal is anticompetitive, and violates federal antitrust laws.
Jon Hemmerdinger, Americas managing editor for the aviation site FlightGlobal, has been covering the story.
Texas Standard: How much of an advantage might this agreement have given American and JetBlue over their competitors in that region?
Jon Hemmerdinger: Well, it’s actually a little bit tough to say exactly what the benefit will be, because these things take years to sort of play out as the carriers stitch together their networks. But the federal government thinks that they are cooperating too closely on flight schedules. They are going to be sharing revenue, linking up their frequent flier programs and trying to really compete in the New York and Boston market. It looks like it will really help them secure a bigger chunk of the pie from carriers like United and Delta, really competing better with them.
Read more: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/why-the-department-of-justice-wants-to-block-american-airlines-deal-with-jetblue/