DOJ awards US Marshals Service B737 contract

Venezuela's Transmandu adds ex-US DOJ B737-400

US DOJ issues warrant to seize Rosneft B737-700(BBJ)

The United States Department of Justice unsealed a warrant to seize a B737-700(BBJ), RA-73455 (msn 38855), owned by Russian state-owned oil and gas conglomerate Rosneft for alleged multiple violations of export sanctions.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York authorised the seizure due to probable cause that the aircraft violated the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and recent sanctions imposed on Russia. Specifically, the US authorities identified at least seven occasions on which the Boeing executive jet left Russia and then re-entered the country. US-made aircraft covered by sanctions are not allowed to enter Russia from abroad.

Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the jet has been deployed from Russia to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, India, and the Maldives over the last year. The 11.4-year-old aircraft is operated for Rosneft by Ural Airlines (U6, Ekaterinburg) and is based at Moscow Vnukovo airport. The same carrier also operates another B737-700(BBJ) on behalf of Lukoil-Avia (LUK, Moscow Sheremetyevo), according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module.

Both Rosneft...

US DOJ moves to stop JetBlue, Spirit merger

JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) and Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) have vowed to continue with their planned USD3.8 billion merger in spite of a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to block the transaction on antitrust grounds.

The lawsuit - filed on March 7, 2023, in the US District Court in Massachusetts with support from the states of Massachusetts and New York and the District of Columbia - is seen as indicative of the Biden administration’s aggressive approach to enforcing US antitrust law.

In the 43-page charge sheet, the DOJ claims the proposed merger would violate Section 7 of the antitrust Clayton Act and should be enjoined. It claims the deal would have a lasting negative impact on consumers as it would eliminate competition from Spirit Airlines as the largest and fastest-growing ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) in the US, resulting in the loss of about half of all ULCC seats in the industry, leaving tens of millions of travellers to face higher fares and fewer...

US DOJ prepares to file suit to block JetBlue, Spirit merger

The United States Department of Justice has been sending out depositions in preparation for a lawsuit to block the shareholder-approved USD3.8 billion merger between JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) and Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International), a deal that could create the fifth largest US airline to compete with the four mainline US carriers.

News and data service provider Dealreporter cites unnamed well-placed sources saying the DOJ - under the new administration - was always expected to take action against the proposed deal. The Department is already taking JetBlue and American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) to court over their so-called Northeast Alliance commercial partnership announced in July 2020. A hearing on that case was held in September 2022 and is awaiting a final decision from a judge. Should the Northeast Alliance be unwound, it would be easier for JetBlue to win a potential case to purchase Spirit, according to Dealreporter.

The merger was approved by Spirit shareholders in October 2022 following a protracted bidding war between JetBlue and Frontier...