Miami: Re (“Feds Move to Block Spirit Airlines’ JetBlue Purchase,” March 8): The Justice Department is right to sue to stop this merger. Spirit and JetBlue are apples and oranges. Spirit doesn’t have first class like JetBlue. JetBlue plans to remove an average of 30 seats from all Spirit aircraft (approximately 15,000 seats per day outside the US market), which will result in higher costs to the consumer. This is also not good for tourism.
Due to a shortage of planes and pilots, no other ultra-low-cost airline has enough planes or pilots. JetBlue has said it will buy Spirit for its planes and pilots. This will also result in higher prices for consumers going from the Northeast to Florida, Texas, Michigan and Nevada, among other places. Spirit is growing in Newark, with more gates and flight slots that benefit the consumer, which will not happen if the buyout happens.
Since JetBlue’s business model as a low-cost carrier means it doesn’t fly to Atlantic City, Myrtle Beach, Latrobe, Pensacola, Manchester, Louisville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Memphis, Oakland, and certain countries, for example, Nicaragua. When the two airlines are combined, JetBlue will likely withdraw from these markets, as they are only supported by ultra-low-cost carriers.
This buy is all about removing a strong competitor (Spirit) from the playing field. JetBlue also benefits from acquiring experienced aircraft and crews in a very tight market for both. This is bad for the public, bad for industry competitiveness and pricing, and bad for the airline industry as a whole. grogan brand
Clearwater, Fla.: Re “Chris Rock addresses Will Smith on Netflix special” (March 4): Rock needs to expand his vocabulary. The man appears to be on a profanity-filled tirade. Let’s hope no one wants his children to hear his foul-mouthed schtick. He’s certainly not a role model for impressionable little kids. Sadly, Rock doesn’t seem to know any better. And to think that some people actually pay to hear profanity from him. Asinine! joann lee frank
Delray Beach, Fla.: How far will James Dolan go in using facial recognition to ban people who are his enemies? If a player on the teams playing the Knicks and Rangers turns out to be associated with a law firm suing him, can you ban that player from playing at Madison Square Garden or ban an artist from Radio City Music Hall? ? I bet he would try. jeff gold
Bronx: Mayor Adams has only himself to blame as President Biden bypasses him in his request for funds for the surge of illegal immigrants. Adams continually blames the Republicans instead of the person actually at fault: Biden. The president knows he doesn’t have to shell out a penny because the New York City Democrats will interfere on his behalf and cover up the mess he created. After Bill de Blasio, I see there’s a new liar in town. Mr. Mayor, he should have told the truth from the beginning. At least you would have received money to shut up. stephen hill
Smithtown, LI: Why doesn’t the city offer Medicare Advantage as an option for retirees instead of making it mandatory? Many non-city retirees take an Advantage plan instead of traditional Medicare. Perhaps the city will find that there is a lot of interest in these plans before imposing them on all retirees. Then, in the future, you can make it mandatory for current employees who benefited from these union negotiations. Andrew Ross
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Atlanta: To broadcaster Frederick R. Bedell Jr., who praises Mayor Adams for wishing prayer could be reinstated in the city’s public schools: New York probably has the most religiously diverse public school student body in the world, with Christians of various denominations, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Unitarians, Wiccans, Jains, Sikhs, and of course, Atheists and Agnostics. What kind of prayer would be appropriate? I have little doubt that Adams, who claims he was anointed by Jesus to be mayor, believes it should be Christian prayer. And what of the many non-religious students and teachers who refuse to participate? Should they be kicked out or fired? Let’s give these one million students in public schools a decent secular education that will prepare them for success in the 21st century. Leave the subject of religion and prayer to their families, where it belongs. This is a free country, not a Christian nation. Ed Buckner
Flushing: Tucker Carlson’s Comedy Show is presented in the best traditions of that master of political propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. Carlson is not fooling anyone who has half a brain and knows the truth about January 6th. There is no one as blind as those who do not want to see. lester simon
Hyde Park, New York: Host Linda Stewart seems to be typical Foxie in that she simply can’t accept the facts and the truth about the misinformation the network puts out. There are actual emails from Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity showing they didn’t even buy the stolen election nonsense. So instead he throws out Hunter Biden’s laptop (of course, typical Foxie), COVID vaccines that don’t prevent the virus (which no one ever said, they prevent disease and death), and that “the 2016 election were rigged” (someone said that Hillary conceded on election night!). It’s sad that there are people out there who still feel this way despite all the facts staring them in the face. Jack Cregan
Millburn, NJ: I don’t know the politics of Voicer Peter J. Peirano, but in his letter complaining that you dropped “Dilbert”, he makes the same mistake many right-wing politicians make (wittingly or unknowingly). . Whether or not the Daily News publishes “Dilbert” has nothing to do with the First Amendment. That prevents Congress from restricting freedom of expression and of the press. It does not apply to private companies. The Daily News, like any publisher, has the right to choose what appears under its name. ed marks
Bronx: Thank you for your excellent article “Top 10 Earbenders in the City Revealed” (March 8). I laughed out loud when I read that former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman co-chairs the Civil Rights Foundation with the Rev. Al Sharpton. The former chief judge has always maintained that his father, Ralph, who ran a large housing cooperative on the Lower East Side since 1956, was his greatest hero. In a 1987 civil rights lawsuit, Huertas v. East River Housing Corp., a federal court found that Ralph Lippman “willfully and specifically discriminated against Blacks and Hispanics.” Ralph’s associate, Sol Mildworm, is quoted as telling a possible white resident that “the buildings are 90% Jewish, 9% Italian, 1% Black and Puerto Rican, and we intend to keep it that way.” Until Jonathan Lippman publicly denounces his father, he is nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud. Charles T. Compton
Manhattan: Like broadcaster Michael Ilardi, I too wonder why the Daily News changed the Rosie the Riveter poster to a fictional black woman. Rosie was a white woman, New York philanthropist Rosalind P. Walter, whose estate remains a major contributor to PBS programming. She worked the night shift putting rivets on the metal bodies of Corsair fighter jets at a Connecticut plant, a job that had almost always been reserved for men. A newspaper column about her inspired a 1942 song that lifted her spirits and turned her into the legendary Rosie the Riveter, the epitome of working women in overalls and scarves. Honor one of our own New Yorkers who did things during World War II and continues to do so after her passing a few years ago. Phoebe Bardot
Cambria Heights: For Announcer Michael Ilardi: Changing the color of the figure on the WWII poster is called inclusion! Are you aware of the contributions of African Americans in both World War I and World War II? Black fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands gave their lives for this country, only to return home to be lynched, emasculated, and denied the soldiers’ benefits freely granted to white veterans, as well as countless other indignities. terri gilbert
