JetBlue to Buy Spirit Airlines

Lately, there has been a lot of rumors and offers up in the air to acquire Spirit Airlines. Supposedly, they were in talks with Frontier and JetBlue to merger the two airline companies. It was announced today that JetBlue will buy Spirit Airlines in a $3.8 billion dollar deal.  This combination of airlines will create the country’s fifth-largest airline company.

Spirit Airlines shareholders did not support the merger between Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines.  Therefore, that deal, that has been in talks since February, fell through. JetBlue was able to come in and close the deal. If and when the deal is approved by regulators, it would leave Frontier Airlines as the number one budget airline in the United States. The last big merger amongst airlines was in 2016 when Alaska Airlines acquired Virgin America.

JetBlue hopes that with this acquisition of Spirit Airlines they will be able to complete with other major carriers like Delta and American Airlines.  This will also broaden their fleet.  With the yellow Spirit Airlines planes, JetBlue plans to refurbish them with their logos and interiors.  This would include their signature television screens on the back of the seats and more leg room.

This deal is expected to be complete in 2024 with the first flights as one combined airline to depart in 2025.  JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said in an interview recently, “We have two priorities: one is to get this deal closed and get the airline integrated and build a bigger JetBlue, secondly to run a reliable operation in the meantime.”

No word on the deal has been released from the United States Justice Department. The Biden Justice Department has been quoted to have a strong response to deals it deems anti-competitive.

What do you think of the merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines? Let us know in the comments.

Source: CNBC