John Lopatka on the JetBlue-Spirit Merger

CNBC – ICLE Academic Affiliate John Lopatka was quoted by CNBC in a story about the competition issues involved in the pending merger of discount carriers JetBlue and Spirit. You can read full story here.

But it is likely to require JetBlue and Spirit to divest some of their assets in the process, said John Lopatka, a law professor who specializes in antitrust law at Penn State Law.

Without that, “there would be a public perception that [the Justice Department] just caved,” he said.

Regulators will be studying fares and overlapping routes, particularly in places such as Florida where the airlines have large operations.

“I think they’re up against a lot,” Lopatka said of JetBlue and Spirit. “I think there is almost no chance they’ll be able to pull off the merger without some concessions.”