Spirit and Frontier overlap on more than 500 routes.
Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines expanded aggressively over the last decade offering travelers no-frills service in exchange for ultra-low airfares. Their executives vow to keep it that way, even if the carriers complete their $6.6 billion-merger that would turn the carriers into a discount behemoth and the country’s fifth largest airline. Frontier will have a controlling stake. „Our business model is built on low fares that stimulates travel“ Frontier’s CEO Barry Biffle said in an interview. „We’re going to give people even more low fares.“ Antitrust hurdles That will be key to regulators‘ approval of the deal. President Joe Biden last year made boosting competition a priority and his Justice Department has already sued American Airlines and JetBlue Airways over their partnership in the Northeast, alleging it reduces competition and could drive up prices. The airlines denied that and have said the alliance was drawn up so they could better compete with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines in big, congested airports in the New York area and Boston. The Frontier-Spirit deal would mean a bigger competitor for other carriers, but also one airline fewer for travelers to choose from. „We believe the merits of the deal, everyone wins,“ Biffle said. „We think we should get a warm reception because the administration has been looking for ways to increase competition and we think this is the answer.
