Low-cost airlines Frontier and Spirit announced on Monday morning that they are merging. The airlines tweeted the news, with Frontier Airlines saying, “Our best deal yet. [Frontier] and [Spirit] are combining to create America’s most competitive ultra-low fare airline.” Spirit added, “Even more ultra-low fares! Spirit to combine with Frontier, creating America’s most competitive ultra-low fare airline. Together, we’ll invest in innovation & growth bringing more ultra-low fares to travelers in the U.S., Latin America & the Caribbean.”
According to a new website created to share details about the merge, EvenMoreUltraLowFares.com, the combined airlines will offer 1,000-plus daily flights over 145 destinations in 19 countries. The move is expected to create 10,000 new jobs by 2026. They will also expand with more than 350 aircraft on order, as well as eventually combining frequent flyer and membership offerings.
No announcement has been made as to what name the combined airline company will operate under but ownership will be 51.5 percent Frontier, 48.5 percent Spirit. On the board, seven members will come from Frontier, while five from Spirit. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including completion of the regulatory review process and approval by Spirit stockholders. Until then, it will be “business as usual” for the two airlines, meaning they will continue to operate separately. Existing miles will continue to be honored, and there will be no impact to membership programs for either airline.
According to CNN, the $6.6 billion merger would make the new company the fifth-largest airline in America. The report adds, however, that “It is also not clear that the merger will be approved by federal antitrust regulators,” due to an aggressive approach on antitrust issues by the Biden Administration. For instance, it recently blocked an alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue, causing it to fall short of a full merger.
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