Redacted Court Documents Suggest JetBlue’s Alleged Plans to Increase Spirit Fares

In response to the story about improper redactions in a lawsuit filed against JetBlue that accuses the airline of planning to raise prices on Spirit Airlines flights, a spokesperson from JetBlue released a statement to TravelPulse:

Unfortunately, following a filing error by the legal team for a group of consumers that has filed a baseless lawsuit, we are in a position where we need to correct the record.

To be very clear, the claims reported by several media outlets did not reflect facts set out in JetBlue documents. Serial private plaintiffs represented by Alioto law firm, in the court filing laying out their arguments opposing our motion for summary judgment, incorrectly redacted sections of text so that it could be read by cutting and pasting into a new document. As we attempted to clarify yesterday, it is important to understand that the redacted text was content written and produced by Alioto in their own court filing, not redactions to JetBlue internal documents. These redactions were in text where Alioto had outlined, in their own words, their argument to the court, and essentially represents the plaintiff’s “spin” on confidential evidence they have reviewed. It’s no surprise a class action attorney would mispresent the facts in a brief to the court to preserve their case.

The factual evidence, when presented in a full and complete picture, will demonstrate that JetBlue intends for the merger with Spirit to increase competition and help lower fares across the board while also bringing JetBlue’s high-quality and much-loved experience to millions more travels.

A new report claims that improper redactions in a lawsuit exposed JetBlue Airways’ plans to raise airfare prices on Spirit Airlines flights following the successful completion of the merger.

According to Law360.com (paid account required), an improperly redacted lawsuit by consumers challenging the $3.8 billion deal between JetBlue and Spirit showed that prices for passengers flying with the low-cost carrier could jump by as much as 40 percent.

Law360 found the error in court documents filed on Tuesday that plaintiffs believe showed an internal acknowledgment that the proposed merger would result in higher prices for Spirit customers and across the domestic travel market.

In addition to the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts Federal District Court, JetBlue also faces an antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice.

“The Defendants’ own admissions provide an astounding quality of direct evidence that the merger not only threatens anticompetitive harm, it will almost assuredly result in it,” the court filing read. “Higher prices, reduced output, the elimination of choice in a vibrant rival, and the diminution of service quality, among other harms.”

The lawsuit also claims JetBlue plans to increase fares by “at least 24 percent as a conservative estimate,” with prices climbing to as much as 40 percent higher in certain situations.

In addition, exposed court documents showed that JetBlue is accused of understanding that removing Spirit from a route would result in “market-wide price increases of all other airlines serving that route by 30 percent.”

JetBlue responded to the claims with a statement to View From the Wing:

“Private plaintiffs’ counsel failed to properly redact certain information which, taken out of context, creates a completely inaccurate picture of the facts. We are confident that our merger with Spirit will give a much-needed boost to airline competition in the U.S. and result in more low fares and higher-quality service for customers. We look forward to laying out all of the evidence to support our case this October.”

Earlier this month, defense attorneys from JetBlue and Spirit argued that the consumer lawsuit should be thrown out entirely, calling it “vague” and “speculative.” They requested U.S. District Judge William Young rule that the 25 plaintiffs, who lodged a court complaint last year hoping to block the JetBlue-Spirit merger, don’t have sufficient legal standing to remain in court.

The defense team said the plaintiffs’ “generalized” claim that the takeover would harm them as air travelers aren’t sufficient to support this kind of legal challenge against a specific merger agreement.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit, which likewise seeks to block the JetBlue-Spirit merger that would result in the formation of the country’s fifth-largest airline, is still pending before Judge Young in Boston federal court. A bench trial in the case is scheduled to commence on October 16, 2023.