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USA Today
25-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Spirit Airlines urges DOT to block JetBlue, United deal citing antitrust threat
Spirit Airlines on Tuesday urged the Transportation Department to reject a proposed JetBlue Airways JBLU.O and United Airlines UAL.O partnership, saying it was anticompetitive and will prompt large carriers to pursue similar deals. United and JetBlue said in May their "Blue Sky" tie-up would allow travelers to book flights on both carriers' websites, while interchangeably earning and using points in their frequent flyer programs. Budget carrier Spirit said the deal would mean the smaller JetBlue "will become a de facto vassal of United." "This anti-competitive tie-up involving a dominant legacy carrier will neutralize the competitive benefit of an existing low-fare competitor," Spirit said. JetBlue said the filing "misrepresents Blue Sky and twists the facts about how JetBlue and United plan to deliver for customers." JetBlue said the deal "does not include schedule coordination or revenue sharing. JetBlue and United will remain competitors as they each will continue to publish, price, and market flights independently under their own brand and flight numbers." Airline news updates: JetBlue to end 'unprofitable' service to Miami United declined to comment. In March 2024, JetBlue and Spirit scrapped a $3.8 billion merger agreement after a U.S. judge blocked the deal on anti-competition concerns. Spirit also said that if the partnership is approved, American Airlines AAL.O and Delta Air Lines DAL.N "will almost certainly seek similar arrangements and smaller carriers may feel compelled to go along, creating an even more highly concentrated industry." American and Delta did not immediately comment. Under the deal, JetBlue will provide United access to slots at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport for up to seven daily round-trip flights, beginning in 2027. JetBlue, the sixth largest U.S. carrier, and United will also exchange eight flight timings at Newark, New Jersey, and United will move some holiday and travel services to JetBlue's Paisley platform. JetBlue has been seeking partnerships after a federal judge blocked its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines in 2023. JetBlue has been struggling to return to sustained profitability after the COVID-19 pandemic. It has managed to post a profit in just two of the past nine quarters. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Leslie Adler
The Star
14-06-2025
- The Star
Gunmen kill at least 100 people in Nigeria's Benue state, Amnesty International says
(Reuters) -At least 100 people have been killed in an attack by gunmen on a village in Nigeria's central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday in the village of Yelewata, the group said in a post on social media platform X. "Many people are still injured and left without adequate medical care. Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms," the post added. Benue is in Nigeria's Middle Belt, a region where the majority Muslim North meets the largely Christian South. The region faces competition over land use, with conflicts between herders, who seek grazing land for their cattle, and farmers, who need arable land for cultivation. These tensions are often worsened by overlapping ethnic and religious divisions. Last month, at least 42 people were shot dead by suspected herders in a series of weekend attacks across Gwer West district in Nigeria's central Benue state. Since 2019, the clashes have claimed more than 500 lives in the region and forced 2.2 million to leave their homes, according to research firm SBM Intelligence. (Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru, Editing by Franklin Paul)
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Google says hackers that targeted UK retail sector are now targeting US retailers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google says that the hackers who have targeted the UK retail sector are now turning their attention to American retailers. In an email sent Wednesday, Google's cybersecurity arm said that the hackers "are aggressive, creative, and particularly effective at circumventing mature security programs." (Reporting by Raphael Satter, Editing by Franklin Paul)
