The US Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the proposed merger between Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways, alleging that it would reduce ultra-low-cost fare options and incentives for airlines to compete, including on 40 routes operated by both of those carriers. The DOJ, along with attorneys general for the District of Columbia, New York and Massachusetts, filed the complaint on 7 March in Massachusetts federal district court. Merging Spirit with JetBlue, US attorney general Merrick Garland said that day during a press conference, would remove incentives for airlines to compete with Spirit’s ULCC prices. The deal, valued at $3.8 billion, would create the fifth-largest US carrier by capacity. “Spirit’s own internal documents estimate that when it starts flying a route, average fares fall by 17%,” Garland says. “And an internal JetBlue document estimates that when Spirit stops flying a route, average fares go up by 30%.” The complaint alleges that the deal would also “make it easier for the remaining airlines to co-ordinate to charge travellers higher fares or limit capacity”, citing the “Northeast Alliance” codeshare between JetBlue and American Airlines focused on New York and Boston. “JetBlue is doubling down on consolidation, seeking to acquire and eliminate its main ultra-low-cost competitor, depriving travellers of yet another choice,” the DOJ states. JetBlue and American already face an antitrust lawsuit from the DOJ seeking to end the codeshare. When asked during the press conference whether that codeshare was a deciding factor spurring the lawsuit to block the Spirit merger, Garland says: “This merger will exacerbate the problems caused by that alliance”. In a joint statement responding to the DOJ challenge, JetBlue chief executive Robin Hayes and Spirit chief Ted Christie reasserted their argument that the merger would enable the combined airline to compete against US mainlines. “We believe the DOJ has got it wrong on the law here and misses the point that this merger will create a national low-fare, high-quality competitor to the Big Four carriers which – thanks to their own DOJ-approved mergers – control about 80% of the US market,” Hayes states. The New York-based carrier says it has committed “to divest all of Spirit’s holdings in Boston and New York, as well as five gates and related assets at Ft Lauderdale, to allow for allocation to other ultra-low-cost carriers”. JetBlue states that a settlement with the state of Florida to resolve antitrust concerns would add frequencies from Florida airports to 35 markets and add “nearly 50 new routes that are not currently served by either JetBlue or Spirit”. The DOJ argues that airport slot divestitures are not a reliable remedy, principal deputy assistant attorney general Doha Mekki said during the press conference, because airlines that purchase the divested slot may not fly the same route to address competition concerns. The proposed merger would leave Frontier Airlines as the top ULCC in the market, as Spirit’s Airbus fleet would be converted following the acquisition to include JetBlue’s in-flight services. Frontier lacks those amenities and relies instead on ancillary revenue, enabling it to offer a simpler consumer experience for travellers seeking ULCC ticket prices.

Italy's ITA Airways has taken delivery of its first three Airbus A320neos from lessor Avolon. The airline plans to use the aircraft to operate short- and medium-haul services during the summer, says Avolon. It adds that it will deliver two additional A320neos to ITA later in the year, supporting the carrier's target for its portfolio to be 80% composed of new-generation fuel-efficient aircraft by 2026.

The EU’s competition authorities have for a second time approved a merger between Ireland’s CityJet and Spain’s Air Nostrum. This will see the creation of a joint venture by CityJet owner Fortress Investment Group and Air Nostrum holder Air Investment Valencia, combining the two carrier's activities. The transaction was given unconditional approval by the EU Commission in 2019. It found at the time that although CityJet and Air Nostrum were both providers of wet-lease services, the transaction raised no competition concerns because the airlines held small shares of a competitive market. In January of this year, the two parties re-notified the Commission that the deal had not been executed, prompting the regulator to take a second look. It concluded that “the competitive landscape and market conditions remained broadly the same, and that the transaction would still not raise competition concerns”. Air Nostrum has a fleet of 33 aircraft, data shows, mostly Bombardier-made CRJs. CityJet states that it operates a fleet of 22 CRJs out of bases in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Brussels.