Spirit Beats out SWA Slots at EWR. Is that a B6 Tactic Pre Merger???

The carrier beat out JetBlue Airways and Alaska Airlines for the runway timings.


The US Transportation Department (DOT) has awarded Spirit Airlines 16 peak-hour slots at Newark (EWR) in New Jersey, capping off a nearly three-year contest to determine the fate of the vacant slots at the crowded airport just outside New York City.
The 16 runway timings were operated by Southwest Airlines between 2010 and November 2019, at which time the carrier exited EWR to consolidate at nearby New York LaGuardia (LGA). Southwest was originally granted the slots as part of a Justice Department (DOJ) competition remedy included in the merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines.
Florida-based Spirit was not the only US carrier to apply for the slot pairs. JetBlue Airways—which is currently seeking to acquire Spirit through a hostile tender offer—also applied for all 16 runway timings, while Alaska Airlines had sought four.
After reviewing the competing bids, the DOT said it judged Spirit “will be best able to provide competition” consistent with the intent of the DOJ’s 2010 competition remedy, “and is most likely to provide the lowest fares to the most consumers.”
A Spirit spokesperson said in a statement: “We’re pleased to see this process come to a conclusion, and we’ll continue to promote competition and offer affordable, high-value travel options for guests traveling in and out of the New York metropolitan area.”