The Antitrust Rewind - Episode 1: Turbulent skies: the JetBlue–Spirit merger
When the court’s opinion blocking the proposed JetBlue-Spirit merger was released, it was hailed as evidence of a new wave of aggressive airline antitrust enforcement. Two years later, after Spirit first went broke and then was liquidated, the decision has been heavily criticized. Join us for the inaugural episode of Bates White's new podcast, The Antitrust Rewind, as we dig into what really happened and the proper perspective on this landmark case.
Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The opinions expressed represent only those of the speakers and do not represent the views or opinions of Bates White LLC or of other Bates White employees or affiliates.
Guest speakers
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David I. Gelfand is Senior Counsel at Cleary Gottlieb. Dave is one of the country’s leading antitrust lawyers; his practice spans merger review, civil litigation, and criminal investigations. Dave started his career in 1987 at one of Washington, DC’s premier litigation boutique firms. He joined Cleary in 1991 and has concentrated on antitrust work for the past 25 years. He became a Partner of the firm in 1997 and was resident in Cleary's Brussels office from 2001 to 2004. Dave became Senior Counsel in 2022. |
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Dennis McWeeny, PhD is a Principal and economic antitrust expert at Bates White. He has advised clients and conducted economic analyses in several airline industry matters, including the JetBlue–Spirit and Allegiant–Sun Country mergers, and also submitted an expert report in a regulatory matter involving Aeroméxico’s cargo business. He has supported other experts and attorneys at four high-profile antitrust trials in the past three years. Dennis earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and conducted his dissertation research on spatial competition in the airline industry. |
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Stephanie (Stevie) Pearl is Of Counsel in the Washington, DC office of Gibson Dunn, where she is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. Stevie’s practice focuses on antitrust litigation, merger review, and government investigations. She brings a unique perspective from her recent tenure as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where she led and participated in complex investigations and litigated high-profile merger cases in the Transportation, Energy & Agriculture Section, including the JetBlue/Spirit merger. |
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John Thornburgh is an antitrust Partner at Winston Taylor in Chicago and Washington, DC. Prior to joining Winston Taylor, John spent several years at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division where he litigated several high-profile merger challenges and conduct cases. John was trial counsel for the Antitrust Division in its litigation against Live Nation / Ticketmaster, helped lead the trial team in the Division’s successful challenge to JetBlue’s proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines, and played a leading role in the Division’s challenge to a merger in the sugar industry. John also served as an Assistant Chief in the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office, where he led the office’s civil enforcement, focused on the agriculture sector. |
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