Posted May 24, 2018 05:29:50 Verizon’s plan to buy JetBlue for $7.8 billion will likely be delayed because of concerns that the aircraft manufacturer has a backlog of aircraft that are no longer flying, according to people familiar with the matter.
Verizon’s chief financial officer, David M. White, is also the CEO of JetBlue.
Verizon will have to decide how to move forward on JetBlue and whether it is willing to invest in planes or buy new planes, these people said.
White and Verizon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The announcement that Verizon will acquire JetBlue was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
White has been involved in Verizon’s acquisitions strategy for the last several years, and was the lead negotiator for a merger of Verizon’s cellphone carrier and cell-phone provider T-Mobile USA.
White is the chairman of the board of the Federal Communications Commission, a post that has traditionally been filled by a Republican.
He was appointed by President Donald Trump.
Verizon was one of the largest phone carriers in the United States when it acquired T-mobile in 2014.
It now has about 100 million subscribers and about 7,000 regional markets.
A spokesman for Verizon declined to comment.
Verizon is also working on buying another carrier, American Mobile, for about $7 billion.
American Mobile is also developing aircraft for the carrier, according the people.
AT&T is also pursuing a deal with JetBlue, one of several large deals expected this year, according a person familiar with those talks.
AT & T have been shopping for jets and planes for AT&, the people said, declining to be identified because the negotiations are private.
AT was also a finalist to buy Air America, a subsidiary of American Airlines, for $6 billion.
The deal fell through.
AT and JetBlue have a long history.
JetBlue purchased Air America in the mid-2000s, when AT&s subsidiary, Delta Air Lines, was considering buying it.
JetAir, another Delta Air Line subsidiary, had previously been in talks with AT& and JetStar.
AT has also been shopping at JetBlue with AT &s other subsidiaries.
AT’s new chief executive, Scott McLaughlin, is a former JetBlue board member.
AT executives met with AT executives at JetNation headquarters in Atlanta in December.
AT declined to discuss AT&ams discussions with JetStar and JetAir.
AT had a major stake in JetStar before it bought it.
AT did not return calls seeking comment.
AT is also negotiating to buy Delta Airline, a rival of AT&am.
AT also has a major interest in JetBlue through JetStar, which owns JetBlue’s satellite-TV service.
AT would also have a significant interest in Air America.
AT wants to buy the other JetBlue satellite-video service, American Airlines’ American Express subsidiary, and the American Mobile satellite-cellular carrier, the sources said.
AT plans to pay JetBlue $4 billion to buy American Airlines in a deal that is expected to close in the second half of 2018.
AT, which also owns the American Express business, has not yet finalized the deal, according.
AT bought American Airlines at a discount in December, a move that helped push JetBlue stock up about 10 percent this year.
AT hopes to keep JetBlue as an affiliate of AT and would have to negotiate with JetKing, which is also owned by AT, to retain that relationship.
AT shares rose 3.8 percent to $39.97 on Monday.
AT said in a statement that it is negotiating with Jet King to maintain the current JetBlue affiliate relationship.
At AT& Am, AT is seeking to buy other satellite-phone carriers.
AT will sell American Mobile to JetKing for $2.6 billion, the source said.
The transaction is expected close in 2020.
AT Am, which has an 8.4 percent market share, is the second-largest airline in the country, according at the Federal Aviation Administration.
AT serves about 50 percent of the U.S. population, and operates mostly large airports.
ATAM, which was founded in the 1960s, has operated mostly small airports, including those in Dallas and Los Angeles.
ATAm also operates the nation’s largest airport in New York City, JFK.
ATM has been in discussions with several other carriers, including JetBlue Airways and American Airlines.
ATMB has not announced a final decision on a deal.
ATamp, another JetBlue subsidiary, is expected sell Air America to AT&Am in a transaction that is also expected to take place in the next two months, the person said.
American Airlines said it had not yet received any new information on a sale.
ATam is also exploring a sale of Delta Airlines to a consortium of American and JetLink airlines, the carrier said in an announcement.
ATm, which operates the largest carrier
