JetBlue and Spirit Airlines formally called off their merger following an unfavorable January US court ruling. Photo: JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP/FileSource: AFPJetBlue and Spirit Airlines formally pulled the plug Monday on their merger, about six weeks after a federal judge ruled it violated US antitrust law. JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million as a termination fee. "We believed this merger was worth pursuing because it would have unleashed a national low-fare, high-value competitor to the Big Four airlines," said JetBlue Chief Executive Joanna Geraghty. Shares of Spirit slumped 14.5 percent in early trading Monday, while JetBlue rose 3.9 percent.
