JetBlue Ditches American Airlines Partnership to Salvage Spirit Purchase

JetBlue says it won’t appeal a judge’s ruling against its partnership with American Airlines, effectively dropping the deal in an effort to salvage its purchase of Spirit Airlines.

JetBlue Airways said Wednesday that it wind down the deal with American in New York and Boston in the coming months and “turn even more focus” on its proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit.

The U.S. Justice Department sued to block both the JetBlue-American deal and JetBlue’s purchase of Spirit on grounds that they would hurt competition. The government said consumers would suffer if Spirit — the nation’s biggest discount airline — is eliminated.

Read more at The Hill.