Tag: JetBlue

JetBlue pulls out of deal to buy Spirit | CNN Business

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JetBlue Airways announced Monday it is pulling out of its deal to purchase Spirit Airlines.

The decision comes in the wake of a federal court ruling blocking the deal from taking place on antitrust grounds. The Justice Department had argued that airfares could go up if Spirit was no longer an independent airline.

Spirit has been a leader in the segment of the airline industry that offers very low, no-frills base fares that required passengers to pay extra for everything, including carry-on baggage.

JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit $69 million as part of its decision to end the deal, JetBlue said.

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All But 2 Major U.S. Airlines Have Announced Vaccine Mandates | Forbes

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And then there were six. Last week, three major U.S. airlines said they would require employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways are joining United, Hawaiian and Frontier airlines in announcing vaccine mandates for staff.

Among the major U.S. air carriers, the two holdouts — Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines — are getting pushback from unions as they mull taking similar action.

But airlines have little choice. Last month, as part of a new approach to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration ratcheted up pressure by ordering the nation’s largest employers to impose vaccine mandates. As large employers with more than 100 workers, airlines must require their workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or test their employees for the virus at least once a week. Airlines that provide services for the government as contractors have an even stricter set of rules. They must enforce the vaccine mandate by December 8 without offering a testing option.

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