Spirit and JetBlue on March 4 ended their merger plans, saying that regulatory obstacles won’t permit the airlines to close the deal in a timely fashion. But before the news broke, we’d recorded an episode with aviation editor Robert Silk and antitrust lawyer Scott Wagner to talk about antitrust law and the past, present and -- what we thought -- might be the future of the deal. We talk about why the approach of the judge who struck down the merger deal may have some additional ramifications for the industry. Do presidential administrations impact antitrust decisions? And is the era of major airline mergers at an end?

Take a listen, and then check our links below for the latest coverage of the merger, including the official breakup.

This episode was recorded March 1 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Travel Insured https://www.travelinsured.com

Related reports:

JetBlue and Spirit end their merger plans https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/JetBlue-spirit-end-merger

Future airline mergers face turbulence https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/JetBlue-spirit-end-merger

Spirit and JetBlue face a cloudy future after blocked merger https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Spirit-and-JetBlue-cloudy-future-after-blocked-merger

Judge rules that benefits of JetBlue-Spirit merger don't measure up https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/JetBlue-and-Spirit-appealing-merger-rejection