10 Minute Text

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes is ready for the fight of his life
JetBlue is awaiting word in the next few weeks on whether the U.S. Justice Department will sue to block its $3.8 billion deal for Spirit Airlines, which would combine the sixth- and seventh-biggest U.S. carriers. (Politico reports it’s likely to.) CEO Robin Hayes says he’ll defend the deal in court and is dug in for a fight that could last into 2024.
The budget carrier has spent two decades nipping at the heels of the Big Three — Delta, American, and United — and complaining loudly about their grip on the market, a product of decades of consolidation. He’ll now have to fine-tune that argument in a Washington that’s cracking down on mergers of all kinds.
We also touched on the industry’s annus horribilis, whether the 2020 bailout was worth it, and, of course, recline etiquette.