Biden administration takes on JetBlue as its fight against industry consolidation goes to court

The Biden administration’s fight against consolidation in the airline industry is being tested Tuesday as lawyers for JetBlue Airways and the Justice Department squared off in court.

The administration is suing to block JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines. The trial in federal district court in Boston could reshape the market for low-cost airlines — Spirit is by far the nation’s biggest budget carrier, and it will disappear if JetBlue wins the case.

As the trial began with opening statements from lawyers for sides, shares of JetBlue were suffering their worst one-day drop in more than three years after the airline reported a wider loss than expected in the third quarter and predicted another surprisingly large loss for the fourth quarter.