NEW YORK (AP)
Southwest Airlines has announced intention to take over low cost rival jetBlue Airways. CEO Gary Kelly announced the move to strengthen their East Coast presence. “jetBlue is one of the largest players in the East Coast, and we look forward to welcoming them as part of our team.”
jetBlue and Southwest combined will serve a whopping 95 destinations from the New York City area (including Westchester and Islip), making them the largest airline in the competitive market. The move also strengthens jetBlue’s foothold in the Northeast as Southwest brings their Manchester, NH, and Portland, ME services to their combined network.
Combined, this will make jetBlue-Southwest the fourth largest airline in the United States, behind legacy carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines respectively.
However, this latest merger has drawn critics, who say that the recent consolidation in the airline industry has decreased competition, and raised airfares as a result. The last major airline merger was last year’s acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska Airlines Group.
Nonetheless, representatives from both airlines are very optimistic that the Department of Justice will give them the green light. Robin Hayes, CEO of jetBlue remarked “We are very excited today to take the next step forward in improving the air travel experience, and making flying fun for everyone again. Southwest and jetBlue both share the same value of putting customer service at the heart of everything we do, and we’re looking forward to joining their team.”
It is unclear whether both airlines will become one unified brand or if they will operate separately.