The Biden Administration’s anti-trust bunch have put the kibosh on the proposed JetBlue and Spirit Airlines merger. In so doing, the Bidenistas demonstrate again how they’ve hi-jacked any connection to anti-trust.
One phrase refutes every argument the Bidenistas put up: Avelo Airlines. (RELATED: Federal Judge Blocks Billion-Dollar Acquisition Of Spirit Airlines)
Ranked 7th by number of flights, JetBlue is a low-cost airline launched in 2000. Spirit, another low-cost carrier, is ranked 8th and began operating in 1992. Overall, U.S. passengers are serviced by five big carriers such as Delta and Southwest, five mid-sized carriers such as JetBlue and Spirit, and a host of smaller, niche carriers.
Therein lies the first clue the anti-trust vigilantes should butt out. If there were only a couple airlines, or if entry and exit into the business were especially difficult, then anti-trust concerns could be appropriate. Instead, there are at least 10 carriers with substantial presence and neither entry nor exit is a problem.
The second clue is that the domestic industry rarely makes a profit. According to the Bureau of........