Ravi Sarathy offers his thoughts on the ongoing trial between the U.S. Government and JetBlue after the airline announced a merger with the ultra-budget carrier, Spirit.

Expect long lines, packed flights and top-dollar tickets if you travel by air this summer, according to travel experts.

As recently as 1996, the U.S. airline industry suffered a fatal crash for every 2 million departures, resulting in more than 350 deaths that year, according to The Wall Street Journal. By 2021, the rate had plummeted to one death for every 120 million departures.

Air travelers this holiday season can expect to pay higher airfares and see busier airports as demand picks up and the industry moves toward pre-pandemic volume.

After a months-long bidding war, JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. While Spirit shareholders have approved the buyout, the deal could still face a challenge from federal antitrust regulators.

A new book by Northeastern professor of International Business and Strategy Ravi Sarathy, “Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain: Lessons in Disruption from Fintech, Supply Chains, and Consumer Industries,” explores the whys behind this reticence and offers solutions to the problems blockchain still presents.

Northeastern airlines industry expert Ravi Sarathy says JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit Airlines will probably result in higher fares for consumers, as the low-cost carrier Spirit disappears in the planned $3.8 billion purchase.

Northeastern, industry experts say travel woes will continue this summer but expect delays, cancellations and flight cost issues to subside in the fall.

As more industries make use of so-called blockchains, which are really just digital ledgers for storing data, the high-profile Ronin theft has raised new concerns about just how effective existing blockchain safeguards and protocols are at protecting the digital wallets of millions of crypto traders.

JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines are seeking to partner with Spirit Airlines, the low-cost carrier. “From a competitive standpoint, either of these mergers will probably result in higher fares,” says Ravi Sarathy, a Northeastern professor of international business and strategy who studies the industry.