How Washington Can Help Low Fare Air Travel Soar
Bringing air travel back to life after COVID-19 has proven harder than shutting it down. Airlines have managed the ups and downs of unpredictable variant waves while racing to hire and train new crewmembers in a tough labor market. Even the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had its own high-profile challenges, the most recent resulting in a nationwide ground stop for every domestic flight. For impacted travelers, it’s fair to ask: “Does it have to be this way?”
2023 is predicted to be a banner year for travel. With so many counting on us, we all need to do our part. The airlines are making investments to make air travel more enjoyable, affordable, and efficient, and we’re looking to Washington to help make that a reality.
Washington can do it. It just needs the political will.
First, Congress needs to shore up the backbone of our aviation system by passing a bill reauthorizing the FAA with long-term funding. Such a measure would modernize our air traffic system and invest in our hard-working air traffic controllers.
For years, Congress has kicked the can down the road with stopgap measures. The result: aging technology and air traffic controller staffing challenges that result in the inability to effectively manage growing flight demand. Without a comprehensive FAA reauthorization, we will only fall further behind. Case in point: the outdated air traffic control system failed in January due to an unintentionally deleted file and brought U.S. air travel to a halt.
Our airways are exponentially busier than they were when the current air traffic control system was designed and implemented – it’s why delays have become a fact of life when you fly. New technology and standards could ease some of the strain at highly congested airports, like JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark in the New York City metro area. Modernized air traffic systems would open the door to safer and more efficient operations, such as allowing direct landing approaches into airports, with aircraft safely timed closer together, resulting in less fuel burn and other environmental benefits.
And while improved infrastructure is the most critical need, high-quality air service will only flourish with robust airline competition. Washington needs to make bold moves to unleash more competition – and it can start by approving the proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger as soon as possible.
Today, the four largest carriers in the U.S. control about 80 percent of the market. The big legacy airlines can charge high prices and provide poor service, and consumers must live with it. This lack of competition has happened in part because the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has never stopped a major airline merger, allowing the biggest airlines to grow even bigger.
JetBlue’s merger with Spirit will fix that. Combining JetBlue and Spirit will result in the only national low-fare competitor to the “Big Four.” This merger will bring JetBlue’s much-loved low-cost, award-winning service to more customers on more routes. If the DOJ has not stopped the dominant high-fare airlines from combining in the past, why should it stop two smaller, low-cost players from joining forces to challenge the status quo?
To give a sense of scale, combining the sixth-largest airline, JetBlue, with the seventh-largest airline, Spirit, will create a competitor with less than 10 percent market share. That’s far smaller than any of the largest four airlines and far from the definition of monopoly, but it’s big enough to make a significant difference in the competitive landscape.
JetBlue’s merger with Spirit would bring JetBlue flights to new markets and help the company grow in legacy airline hubs, resulting in more choice, lower fares, and better service for customers – regardless of whether they fly with JetBlue or another carrier. The DOJ has cited this occurrence as the ‘JetBlue Effect’, noting that JetBlue is uniquely disruptive and has a long and public track record of significantly lowering fares when it enters a market. If the DOJ were to sue to stop the merger, the largest airlines would keep unchecked power, leaving us right where we are today.
JetBlue has been a disrupter since our very first flight in 2000. From offering free wi-fi and the most legroom in coach, to in-flight entertainment and name brand snacks, we wanted to give travelers a better option. And we have done so at a lower cost, working to not only drive down our fares, but also those of our competitors.
Recent high-profile stumbles in air travel have gotten the attention of lawmakers. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or independent, air service we can count on is a bipartisan issue. It’s time to pass legislation that gives Americans the modern air travel they deserve. And to that end, let’s give JetBlue and Spirit a chance to step up and take on the dominant airlines. The status quo isn’t working, but there are solutions that Washington can clear for takeoff today.
Robin Hayes is chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways Corp.
