JetBlue would gain from airline mergers, CEO says

JetBlue Airways Corp. chief executive officer Dave Barger said airline mergers would benefit JetBlue and other U.S. carriers by limiting capacity.

"Consolidation would be very good for the industry," Barger said Friday in a Bloomberg Television interview. "There's still too many airline seats chasing the demand."

The New York-based discount airline wants to integrate some operations with Deutsche Lufthansa AG after the German carrier's purchase of a 19 percent stake in JetBlue last month, Barger said. That may include sharing routes, as well as supply-chain operations, Barger said.

As part of the Lufthansa deal, Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. CEO Christoph Franz joined JetBlue's board effective Friday. Lufthansa is Swiss International's parent.