Wilfredo Lee / AP
JetBlue and Spirit Airlines will have to wait until June ahead of a federal courtroom hears their attraction of a ruling that blocked JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion acquire of the smaller rival.
The plan set Friday by the 1st U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals in Boston is a month later on than the airlines had hoped. They requested for an expedited hearing in May possibly so the court docket could rule before a July 24 deal-closing deadline in their merger arrangement.
The appeals courtroom purchased the airlines to file their pre-hearing briefs Feb. 26, with a response by the U.S. Justice Office owing by April 11.
The Justice Department sued to block the merger previous yr, saying it would cut down competitiveness and push up fares, specially for travelers who rely on reduced-fare Spirit.
In January, a federal district judge in Boston sided with the authorities and blocked the deal, declaring it violated antitrust legislation.
New York-based mostly JetBlue experienced argued that the merger would enable it contend additional efficiently versus larger airways. Having said that, the price tag appears to be significantly less appealing for the reason that of continuing losses and other challenges at Spirit, which is based in Miramar, Florida. Very last 7 days JetBlue warned that it might terminate the settlement.
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