Soaring Ticket Prices a Result of Airline Mergers?

In an interview on FOX Business Network’s Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza said the company is pleased to see the U.S. Department of Justice investigate price collusion among U.S. air carriers, especially after the agency recently cleared some major U.S. airlines to merge.

“If you look over the last five years, the Department of Justice has authorized four big mergers that have resulted in four carriers carrying over 80% of all the traffic in the U.S.,” Baldanza told Neil Cavuto. “We actually applaud the DOJ in looking in to see if there is anything about the results of those mergers that has been negative to consumers in terms of higher fares.”

Baldanza added, “We’re going to look just like all other consumers and see what the DOJ finds.”

Spirit Airlines is not included in the current DOJ investigation.