Legal
American, JetBlue Try to Poke Holes in US Case Against Alliance
- Officials counted JFK, LaGuardia in NYC Market, but not Newark
- Judge asks lawyers for basic details of carriers’ alliance
A JetBlue Airways aircraft taxis at Long Beach Airport in California.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Lawyers from the US Justice Department have spent weeks arguing an alliance between American Airlines Group Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. would cost consumers $700 million. On Thursday, a government economist acknowledged the number left out one of the New York area’s three major airports.
The economist, Nathan Miller, said the government’s estimate of consumer harm included only traffic at John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, but overlooked Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the region’s busiest hubs.