Spirit Airlines

After the Justice Department lawsuit, JetBlue’s strategy is in the hands of the courts.

JetBlue finds itself in an unprecedented position—its plans for both the Spirit merger and its alliance with American Airlines remain entangled in litigation.

Calling the carriers “two of the most significant rivals today,” the DOJ has sued to block JetBlue’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines.

The latest new route announcements, schedule changes and codeshares.

The merger is still subject to regulatory approval, as the carriers await a decision from the U.S. Justice Department.

Reliability-induced Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine availability headaches are likely to last all year, Raytheon's top executive warns.

JetBlue in July announced its $3.8 billion deal to acquire ULCC Spirit and has been awaiting regulatory approval, a process Hayes acknowledged was “complex.”

JetBlue is seeking to curry political favor for its pending acquisition of South Florida-based ULCC Spirit Airlines.

Spirit Airlines’ unit costs and profitability continue to be negatively affected by significant reliability problems posed by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofans.

Spirit Airlines pilots have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes provisions in case the ULCC's merger with JetBlue collapses.

Spirit Airlines is keeping the focus on customers as it navigates a potential merger with JetBlue Airways, which was officially approved by Spirit’s shareholders last week.

Frontier Airlines may have lost the bidding war for Spirit Airlines, but its future as a standalone carrier looks bright—especially with its largest ULCC competitor now out of the picture.

Spirit Airlines agreed to be acquired by JetBlue Airways in an all-cash deal valued at $3.8 billion, a move that comes one day after its shareholders formally rejected a competing offer from Frontier Airlines.

If Spirit and JetBlue do eventually agree on the terms of a transaction, they will still need shareholder approval as well as antitrust approval from the U.S. Justice Department.

The postponement is the latest sign that a competing bid from JetBlue is gaining traction among a critical mass of stockholders.

JetBlue Airways upgraded its proposal for Spirit Airlines again as the tit-for-tat bidding war with Frontier Airlines heated up ahead of a June 30 shareholder vote.

JetBlue Airways sweetened the terms of its bid to acquire Spirit Airlines, part of an effort to win over Spirit’s shareholders ahead of a fast approaching vote on whether to merge with Frontier Airlines.

Spirit Airlines believes some pent-up demand exists in its international markets due to the U.S. inbound testing requirements for COVID-19.

Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie is reiterating his firm opposition to the hostile takeover effort initiated by JetBlue Airways, describing it as a “cynical” attempt to disrupt Spirit’s planned merger with Frontier Airlines.

Executives at Spirit Airlines reiterated their opposition to the merger proposal from JetBlue Airways and urged shareholders to approve the competing bid from Frontier Airlines at an upcoming shareholder vote.

What happens next depends on a combination of Frontier’s reaction—whether it makes a counteroffer—and how the Spirit board of directors judges the tradeoffs between a relatively safer merger with Frontier, and the prospect of a perhaps more ambitious future with JetBlue.

JetBlue's offer complicates plans by Frontier Airlines to merge with Spirit before the end of 2022.

News of the proposed merger between Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines has ushered in a wave of speculation about the possibility of further consolidation among U.S. carriers.

The Florida-based ULCC said it has had particular problems hiring enough workers at Fort Lauderdale (FLL), its home base.

Spirit Airlines said that its operational meltdown in recent weeks cost it $50 million in the 2021 third quarter (Q3) and warned that bookings for the rest of the quarter will come in weaker than expected.