The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to block the proposed JetBlue – Spirit airline merger this week.
JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines would make it the fifth largest airline in the US.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said he expects the DOJ to make its move this week to block the deal with a lawsuit.
Hayes claims antitrust officials ‘came to the table with their minds made up.’
JetBlue plans to challenge the legal action.
JetBlue says the airline merger will boost competition.
It says the overlap between JetBlue and Spirit routes is only about 11% of the combined networks.
A combined JetBlue-Spirit business would have about 9% of the US market.
