STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU (April 2023)

This may be premature, but remember the song by Stealers Wheel? Maybe it was prescient regarding a #jetbluespiritmerger when it was released in 1974.

First Verse

Well, I don't know why I came here tonight
I've got the feeling that something ain't right
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs
- Network carriers to the left of me
- ULCCs to the right
- Here I am stuck in the middle...

For some time, it seems as if jetBlue has lamented its competitive position operating from the middle of the US airline industry's market structure - that is why it came. Too big to be small; too small to be big. Why Spirit when the feeling ain't right? Scared if I do nothing that I might fall off my chair and not become the vigorous competitor envisioned. With or without Spirit, still stuck in the middle.

Second Verse

Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you
And I'm wondering what it is I should do
It's so hard to keep this smile from my face
Losing control, yeah I'm all over the place
- Network carriers to the left of me
- ULCCs to the right
- Stuck in the middle...

At least until a DOJ trial concludes, jetBlue is stuck in the middle with Spirit. Wondering what to do if the DOJ says no. Still smiling because of disrupting Frontier's attempt. But given the sentiment in DC, jetBlue is losing control all over the place.

Third Verse

Here I am stuck in the middle with you
When you started off with nothing
And you're proud that you're a self-made man
And your friends they all come crawling
Slap you on the back and say
Please
Please
Trying to make some sense of it all
But I can see it makes no sense at all
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor?
'Cause I don't think that I can take anymore
- Network carriers to the left of me
- ULCCs to the right
- Stuck in the middle...

Spirit is a re-make of its old self all the while transforming itself into today's most sought-after carrier in the US airline space. They should be proud. If DOJ says no, others will come crawling back, say remember me, and beg to be your friend. jetBlue and its legal team will still be trying to make sense of why this transaction is drawing the degree of USG ire given the overall makeup of US airline industry structure. Concerned that if this doesn't work, what does jetBlue do? ...struggling to compete with the network carriers to the left, and the ULCCs to the right.

Final Refrain (same as the third verse)

If the news leaking out is close to what a decision might be - then DOJ/DOT seems to be saying that if it looks like a merger; smells like a merger; then it will be bad for consumers. Politicians need to ask commercial questions too, like: does jetBlue have sufficient scope and scale to compete with the network carriers to the left and ULCCs to the right? If not, a competitor is lost too.

This will not be the last time we will be asking these questions. I bet you will hum this tune.