By Jeff L. Tucker, The Chicago Times
July 28, 2022
NEW YORK – JetBlue Airways announced a $3.8 Billion deal on Thursday to purchase Spirit Airlines.
“We are excited to deliver this unbeatable 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,” JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement.
The merger comes after Spirit terminated its merger agreement with Frontier Airlines. Frontier and JetBlue had been in a bidding war for the Florida based Spirit since February.
“We are thrilled to unite with JetBlue through our improved agreement to create the best national low-fare challenger to the major U.S. carriers, and we look forward to working with JetBlue to complete the transaction,” said Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie.
The merger would form the fifth-largest carrier in the US, with a fleet of 458 aircraft with over 1,700 daily flights to more than 125 destinations in 30 countries. The merger is expected to be completed no later than the first half of 2024.
The Chicago Times 