After a months-long bidding war, JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy South Florida-based Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion and create the nation’s fifth-largest airline if the deal can win approval from antitrust regulators.
It comes one day after the airline officially broke off negotiations with fellow discount carrier Frontier Airlines.
Spirit is currently based in Miramar, but is constructing a new facility in Dania Beach, closer to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a major base of operations for the airline.
JetBlue has said that it plans to keep the combined airline’s headquarters in its hometown of New York.
That’s leading to questions over what the merger, if approved, means for the Dania Beach project and the enlarged company’s overall presence in South Florida.
“JetBlue says it will still have an important place in South Florida,” airline analyst Brett Snyder told Local 10 News in an interview amid negotiations in May.
What that presence might look like is unclear at this point. Similar questions arose after the proposed Spirit-Frontier tie-up.
JetBlue and Spirit will continue to operate independently until the agreement is approved by regulators and Spirit shareholders, with their separate loyalty programs and customer accounts.
The companies said they expect to conclude the regulatory process and close the transaction no later than the first half of 2024.
The combined airline will have a fleet of more than 450 planes.
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It comes one day after the airline officially broke off negotiations with fellow discount carrier Frontier Airlines.
Spirit is currently based in Miramar, but is constructing a new facility in Dania Beach, closer to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a major base of operations for the airline.
JetBlue has said that it plans to keep the combined airline’s headquarters in its hometown of New York.
That’s leading to questions over what the merger, if approved, means for the Dania Beach project and the enlarged company’s overall presence in South Florida.
“JetBlue says it will still have an important place in South Florida,” airline analyst Brett Snyder told Local 10 News in an interview amid negotiations in May.
What that presence might look like is unclear at this point. Similar questions arose after the proposed Spirit-Frontier tie-up.
JetBlue and Spirit will continue to operate independently until the agreement is approved by regulators and Spirit shareholders, with their separate loyalty programs and customer accounts.
The companies said they expect to conclude the regulatory process and close the transaction no later than the first half of 2024.
The combined airline will have a fleet of more than 450 planes.
Continue reading...