JetBlue and Spirit Airlines cancel $3.8bn merger after judge blocked deal

Deal would have created fifth-largest US carrier but judge said it would harm consumers by reducing competition

Low-cost air carriers JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines canceled their $3.8bn merger agreement on Monday, seeing no path forward after a US judge blocked the deal in January on anti-competition concerns.

A successful deal would have created the fifth-largest carrier in the United States and helped Spirit ensure its survival, but the deal had been on the ropes ever since a Boston judge said it would harm consumers by reducing competition.