Taxpayers Protection Alliance Urges DOJ to Abandon Airline Lawsuit

For Immediate Release                                                                                              Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235

March 15, 2023                                                                                                         

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) opposes the recently-announced lawsuit by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to block the potential merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. This lawsuit will waste taxpayer dollars and end up blocking much-needed low-cost innovation in air travel.

In response, TPA Director of Policy Dan Savickas offered the following comment:

“The combination of Spirit Airlines’ affordability with the resources and convenience of a larger airline like JetBlue should be celebrated by consumers and regulators. Instead, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the DOJ would be suing to stop the proposed merger between these two companies.

“This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s mindless belief that bigger companies are necessarily harmful. The merger between JetBlue and Spirit will allow the new combined entity to offer efficient and innovative services that neither could provide on their own. This will improve the air travel experience for millions of travelers.

“It will also increase competition, as the new airline would still only be the fifth largest airline in America. It will provide yet another option for travelers to rival the big four players currently serving the United States. TPA urges the DOJ to abandon this foolish lawsuit and let the free market work and innovation to flourish to create better products and services.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.