jetBlue CEO Dave Barger has decided that jetBlue *does* have a dog in the merger fight and has announced his (jetBlue’s) belief that American Airlines should lose all its slots at Washington Reagan National Airport if the merger goes through.

He means those slots held by AMR, not the new American Airlines.

He may even have a point but Mr. Barger would be well advised to pay close attention to what airports his own airlines dominates at before deciding he does have a dog in the fight.  That dog might bite him.

jetBlue holds a lot of slots at JFK airport and cooperates with American Airlines.

Maybe American Airlines (new) should have to discontinue its lucrative relationship with jetBlue due to dominance in the NYC, Boston and Washington areas.

Blatant land grabs are shameful no matter who makes them.  I realize that those slots are something all airlines covet.  If you cover them so badly, advocate a fair and equitable system for allocating them that remains dynamic over time.

Filed under: Airline Service, Airports, Mergers and Bankruptcy by ajax
1 Comment »