Senator Warren urges Department of Transportation to block JetBlue’s purchase of Spirit

Update 11:45 pm: Add JetBlue comment. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is asking the US Department of Justice to scrutinize JetBlue’s (NASDAQ:JBLU) plan to buy Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) and finally block the combination.

Warren wrote a letter to Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking the agency to consider blocking the $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit (SAVE). Although the Justice Department is reviewing the deal, Warren argued that the DOT could also stop the deal.

Warren wrote in Letters Thursday.

Warren argues that the combination of JetBlue (JBLU) and Spirit (SAVE), a low-cost airline, will likely result in higher fares for passengers.

“The DOT has the statutory authority to block mergers that it determines are not in the public interest at the agency level without going to court — a significant advantage over the DOJ — and you have tremendous opportunity to protect consumers across the country using this agency aggressively,” Warren wrote in the letter.

JetBlue (JBLU) responded to Warren’s letter in an emailed statement to Seeking Alpha.

“Our proposed combination with Spirit addresses Senator Warren’s longstanding concern about a lack of competition in the US airline industry by delivering JetBlue’s groundbreaking combination of low fares and great service to more people in more places. Only 5% of the market,” JetBlue said in the statement.

The airline also responded to Warren’s request for the Department of Transportation to review the transaction.

“We are very disappointed that Senator Warren will propose to circumvent a well-established process to ensure full and in-depth consideration of our proposal, and we look forward to continuing to engage with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Transportation for the substantial benefit that this combination would offered to the traveling public,” JetBlue added.

Warren’s letter comes after Democrats join Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).) in March is required that the Department of Justice originally proposed a Border investigation (NASDAQ:ULCC) buy Spirit (SAVE), was later terminated after JetBlue won the bidding war for Spirit.

The push from Warren also goes to Jetblue (JBLU) and American Airlines (AAL) arI prepare to fight on September 26 in a hearing with the US Department of Justice about a union that airlines announced in July 2020 about code sharing. The government is asking the court to order the airlines to stop Northeastern Alliance Partnership in an action aimed at improving competition in the Northeast of the United States

On Spirit Monday (SAVE) put its owner’s vote for its sale to JetBlue for October 19