CASE FILES / U.S. v. JETBLUE AND SPIRIT
COMINGTHU 29 OCT 2026 · 5:00 PM ET · LONG-FORM

Spirit made your flight cheaper

When Spirit Airlines flew into a market, rival airlines cut their fares 7 to 11%, on average. A federal court found that, and in January 2024 it blocked JetBlue's $3.8 billion deal to buy Spirit. JetBlue's plan was to refit Spirit's planes with fewer seats (11% across Spirit's fleet, the court found) and charge its own higher fares. Two years later, Spirit stopped flying. Its own filings name the reasons, from an oversupplied market to a jet fuel spike with no funding left, and none of them says the ruling caused it. The full case file, from the public record: the deal, the Spirit effect, the plan, the ruling, and what happened next.

Spirit made your flight cheaper. A court said so. Then Spirit stopped flying.

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7 to 11%

average fare cut by rival airlines when Spirit entered a market, the court found.

OPINION, 16 JAN 2024, P. 55
11%

fewer seats across Spirit's fleet under JetBlue's roomier layout, the court found. On an A320, 182 seats became 162.

OPINION, P. 45; 2023 10-K FILINGS
2 May 2026

Spirit cancelled every flight. Its own filings name the reasons, and none of them says the ruling caused it.

SPIRIT 8-K, 4 MAY 2026
The record

The documents. Every number points to a page.

Findings of fact and conclusions of law (ECF 461), U.S. v. JetBlue Airways Corp. and Spirit Airlines, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-10511 (D. Mass., 16 Jan 2024), with the judgment (ECF 463) and the First Circuit's dismissal (ECF 474, 5 Mar 2024)ECF PAGES 6, 23, 37 TO 38, 45 TO 46, 53 TO 55, 64, 106, 109 TO 112
Open
JetBlue 8-Ks: deal announced (28 Jul 2022) and deal terminated (4 Mar 2024)28 JUL 2022, P. 1; 4 MAR 2024
Open
Spirit 10-Ks for 2023 (seats per aircraft) and 2025 (going concern)2023: P. 44; 2025: PP. 23, 65
Open
JetBlue 10-K for 2023 (seats per aircraft)PAGES 12, 42
Open
Spirit 8-Ks: Chapter 11 (18 Nov 2024), Chapter 11 again (29 Aug 2025), wind-down (2 May 2026)PRESS RELEASES, EX. 99.1
Open
Spirit's first-day declaration, sworn by its chief financial officer, Bankr. S.D.N.Y. No. 24-11988, ECF 2 (18 Nov 2024)PAGES 15 TO 16
Open
Spirit's wind-down motion (ECF 1009, 4 May 2026) and order (ECF 1048, 8 May 2026), Bankr. S.D.N.Y. No. 25-11897MOTION PAGE 3
Open

What the record is. The 7% to 11%, the 11% fewer seats and the more than 15 years to replace Spirit on its own routes are the court's findings. The court also found the airlines had rebutted the government's opening case, and blocked the deal on the final weighing. The 182 and 162 seats come from the airlines' 10-Ks. The government's 30% fare rise was an allegation, not a finding. Spirit's reasons are its own filings; none we read says the ruling caused its bankruptcies or shutdown.

NumberWhat it isWhere
$3.8BDeal value, at $33.50 a share, agreed Jul 2022Opinion p. 37; JetBlue 8-K p. 1
7% to 11%Rivals' average fare cut when Spirit entered a marketOpinion p. 55
182 / 162Seats on a Spirit A320 / a JetBlue A320, from each airline's 2023 10-KSpirit 10-K p. 44; JetBlue 10-K pp. 12, 42
11%Fewer seats across Spirit's fleet under JetBlue's layoutOpinion p. 45
15+ yearsFor other low-cost airlines to replace Spirit on its own routes (5 years nationally)Opinion p. 109
$69MWhat JetBlue paid Spirit when the deal ended; no fineJetBlue 8-K, 4 Mar 2024
Spot something wrong?Tell us and we'll check it against the record. Corrections are posted here, with the date. None so far.
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Open the documents above. Every number in the video points to its page.

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