LONDON – Following the news from overnight, Spirit Airlines has today announced that it will merge with JetBlue, crushing Frontier for the last time.
This brings an overall end to the dramatic saga that we have seen over the last few weeks, and the valuation of the merger will be $33.50 per share in cash.
“We are excited to deliver this compelling combination that turbocharges our strategic growth, enabling JetBlue to bring our unique blend of low fares and exceptional service to more customers, on more routes,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, of JetBlue.
“We look forward to welcoming Spirit’s outstanding Team Members to JetBlue and together creating a customer-centric, fifth-largest carrier in the United States.”
“Spirit and JetBlue will continue to advance our shared goal of disrupting the industry to bring down fares from the Big Four airlines.”
“This combination is an exciting opportunity to diversify and expand our network, add jobs and new possibilities for Crewmembers, and expand our platform for profitable growth.”
“Combining with Spirit will give JetBlue an even larger platform to deliver on our mission to inspire humanity,” said Peter Boneparth, chair of the board, JetBlue.
“With the best Crewmembers and Team Members in the industry, our Board and leadership team look forward to building long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders as an even stronger, more competitive low-fare airline.”
Ted Christie, president, and chief executive officer, of Spirit, said, “We are thrilled to unite with JetBlue through our improved agreement to create the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers, and we look forward to working with JetBlue to complete the transaction.”
“Bringing our two airlines together will be a game changer, and we are confident that JetBlue will deliver opportunities for our Guests and Team Members with JetBlue’s unique blend of low fares and award-winning service.”
“We especially appreciate the commitment of our Spirit Family throughout this process. Today’s exciting announcement reflects JetBlue’s admiration for Spirit and a shared belief in what the combined airline can bring for our Guests.”
“We are pleased that the Spirit Board of Directors’ robust and diligent process has delivered additional value to our stockholders,” said Mac Gardner, chairman of the board, of Spirit.
“This is a compelling combination that provides meaningful protections for stockholders against an adverse regulatory outcome with a significant cash premium that reflects the continued hard work and dedication of the Spirit Family.”
Overall…
The next hurdles for the merger now are for approval from the U.S authorities to make this happen. With the two sides joining up, this will create a national low-fare challenger to the dominant big four airlines.
Such a merger will open up markets for 77 million customers, across 1,700+ daily flights to more than 125 destinations in 30 countries based on JetBlue’s December 2022 schedules.
With a combined fleet of 458 aircraft too, this is going to create an overall expansive model that will no doubt make the big four sweat as we head further into the future.
