JetBlue, Spirit urge US appeals court to allow merger to go forward

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Monday urged a U.S. appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that blocked their $3.8 billion merger at the U.S. Department of Justice's request.

The airlines in a brief told the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge wrongly barred their merger despite recognizing it would "improve competition, and thus reduce prices, for the vast majority of consumers."