JetBlue and Spirit abandon their $3.8 billion merger

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are throwing out their $3.8 billion merger agreement. Both airlines agreed to terminate the deal, citing “legal and regulatory approvals” that “were unlikely to be met” by the merger’s July 2024 deadline.

In a press release on Spirit’s website, CEO Ted Christie expressed disappointment that the company couldn’t go through with the deal “that would save hundreds of millions for consumers and create a real challenger to the dominant ‘Big 4’ U.S. airlines.”

Meanwhile, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a statement that the company is “proud of the work we did with Spirit to lay out a vision to challenge the status quo, but given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines’ interests are better served by moving forward independently.”