UPDATE 1-US court to hear JetBlue, Spirit appeal over blocked merger in June

A U.S. appeals court on Friday said it would hear arguments in June in a bid by JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines to overturn a judge's ruling that blocked their $3.8 billion merger, an expedited schedule that was nonetheless slower than what the companies wanted. The airlines earlier this week had asked the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take up their appeal on a speedy timeline so it could hear arguments in May and rule before a July 24 deadline their merger agreement provided to close the deal. The U.S. Department of Justice, which sued to block the deal, opposed the airlines' proposed schedule and pushed for June arguments, saying closing dates are often renegotiated by merging companies to give courts more time to hear antitrust challenges.