JetBlue to Aquire Spirit Airlines in $3.8 Billion Deal Nobody Asked For

Two of the most hated airlines within the United States are set to merge collectively to create one big ball of jet fuel-fed frustration. Spirit Airlines, the “budget” airline that’s change into the butt of a seemingly countless stream of hellish travel jokes, is reportedly being acquired by JetBlue for $3.8 billion. If regulators permit the deal to undergo, it would outcome within the creation of the nation’s fifth largest airline.

JetBlue revealed the acquisition information in a press release Thursday, saying the corporate’s board of administrators agreed to a definitive merger settlement the place JetBlue will purchase Spirit for $33.50 per share. Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s CEO, mentioned the deal would permit JetBlue to supply its survives to extra routes. If the deal goes, although, this beefed-up model of JetBlue will look to compete with United, Delta, Southwest, and American Airlines.

“Spirit and JetBlue will continue to advance our shared goal of disrupting the industry to bring down fares from the Big Four airlines,” Hayes mentioned. “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.”

When mixed, the 2 airways declare they’ll boast 77 million prospects and a fleet of 458 plane. JetBlue hopes the mixed energy of Spirit will assist it obtain its purpose of reserving over 1,700 each day flights to greater than 125 locations in 2022. Peter Boneparth, the chair of JetBlue’s board, mentioned the deal would assist the corporate ship on its, “​​mission to inspire humanity.” (Boneparth clearly is a particularly humorous man).

The acquisition information comes simply hours after Spirit shareholders voted in opposition to merging with one other potential suitor: Frontier. That deal, valued at round $2.8 billion according to The New York Times, got here to a screeching halt yesterday after a month-long negotiation. Frontier introduced its intentions to merge with Spirit again in February to create a big, nationwide budge airline solely to have JetBlue sweep in with a meatier supply.

If you’re questioning why main airways would have interaction in a bidding battle for a corporation that feels universally hated, the brief reply is Spirit, for all its rage-inducing bullshit and unexpected fees, nonetheless manages to regularly turn a profit. That, mixed with its pervasiveness all through the nation’s airports, makes it a horny merchandise for rising airways seeking to up their dimension.

Still, it’s laborious to see how this deal will work out to be something lower than a soul-splitting headache for customers. Spirit and JetBlue each ranked useless final in The Wall Street Journal’s annual ranking of U.S. airways final 12 months. According to that report, round 14.3% of JetBlue’s 262,800 accomplished flights had been delayed 45 minutes or longer. Not to be outdone, Spirit reportedly fielded the best variety of complaints of any airline.