JetBlue and Spirit Airlines announce merger
On 28 July, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines announced that both companies will merge and that Spirit Airlines will be acquired by JetBlue. The day before, Spirit Airlines already terminated a previous, in February 2022 announced, merger-agreement with Frontier Airlines which didn't gain approval from its shareholders, which much more valued the bid from JetBlue.
The deal is subject to approval from the necessary anti-trust and -competition authorities and is expected to close by 2024. As a result of the merger, the Spirit Airlines-brand will be replaced by that of JetBlue. The company's headquarter will remain in New York (NY) but the airline will also have a significant presence in Florida, the current home-state for Spirit Airlines.
Combined, the new JetBlue/Spirit-fleet consists of more than 450 aircraft, with 300 Airbuses on order. JetBlue expects that it will operate up to 675 aircraft by 2027, consisting of 100 Airbus A220s and 575 A320(neo)-family aircraft.
JetBlue is now set to become the US fifth largest airline after American Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, expecting a yearly revenue of close to 12 billion USD, carrying 77 million passengers per year to 127 unique destinations, operating 1,700+ daily flights.
Illustration by JetBlue.