JetBlue says updated data supports ‘pro-competitive impact’ of Spirit merger

JetBlue (JBLU) released updated data that the company claims "further supports the disruptive role of the airline on the dominant, higher-price legacy carriers, and the pro-competitive impact the merger with Spirit will have on the industry." In a press release, JetBlue added: "The Big Four airlines have a lock on about 80% of the market. JetBlue’s combination with Spirit allows it to create a compelling national challenger to these dominant airlines, while also ensuring ULCC options remain available in overlap markets. While JetBlue, with its highly unique combination of low fares and great service, will be able to expand with new national breadth as a result of the transaction, it will remain a significantly smaller player than each of the Big Four airlines. According to the data, a combined JetBlue and Spirit will have only about 9% market share, compared to about 16-24% for each of the four largest airlines, but the added scale and ability to further grow will result in meaningful competition on more routes to more destinations and greater opportunities for Crewmembers and Team Members of both airlines."