A US federal judge ruled to block the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines due to competition concerns raised by the DOJ. The judge agreed with arguments that the $3.8 billion deal would reduce competition and likely lead to higher airfares by eliminating Spirit as a low-cost carrier option. Both JetBlue and Spirit had argued that the merger was necessary for JetBlue to better compete with larger airline companies. The ruling could allow Frontier Airlines another chance to acquire Spirit, having previously reached a deal that was topped by JetBlue.