JetBlue Shares Surge as Icahn Takes Stake

San Francisco, Feb 13 (AP) Shares of JetBlue are rising more than 15 per cent before the market open on Tuesday as activist investor Carl Icahn took an almost 10 per cent stake in the airline.

Icahn, who purchased the shares in January and February, said in a regulatory filing that he believe JetBlue's stock is undervalued and represents an attractive investment opportunity. The stock is down abut 29 per cent in the past year.

He has had talks, and plans to continue talking with JetBlue in regards to possible representation on its board of directors.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

JetBlue was dealt a major blow last month when a federal judge sided with the Biden administration and blocked JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying the USD 3.8 billion deal would reduce competition. Both airlines have filed their intention to appeal with a higher court, and a June hearing date has been set.

New York-based JetBlue had argued that it needed the deal to grow quickly and better compete against bigger rivals that dominate the US air-travel market. But shortly after the ruling, JetBlue told Spirit that it may terminate the deal.

JetBlue, the nation's sixth-largest airline by revenue, now must come up with another growth plan. That will be an assignment for CEO Joanna Geraghty. She just took over for Robin Hayes, who had engineered the deal.

JetBlue has struggled to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic while its bigger rivals have returned to healthy profitability. JetBlue has lost more than USD 2 billion since the start of 2020. (AP)