JetBlue Could Soon Acquire Spirit Airlines Thanks to a New Deal

Planning your travel to Disney World or anywhere else has been a bit of a gamble recently.

©Joe Cavaretta, Sun Sentinel | Getty Images via CNBC

With gas prices at record highs, driving has become cumbersome, while staffing shortages and flight cancelations have made air travel unreliable as of late. We’ve been keeping an eye on the airline industry, and we recently learned that a potential merger between Frontier and Spirit Airlines would not be moving forward. Now, it looks like another major airline will be flying in to purchase Spirit.

According to a new report from BusinessWire, JetBlue Airways has reached a deal to purchase Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion — which would create the fifth-largest airline in the United States.

This new deal comes after a lengthy back-and-forth between Spirit Airlines and Frontier ultimately culminating in Spirit backing out of the merger. Spirit reportedly lacked shareholder support to win approval for the Frontier merger.

Although this deal has not yet been approved by regulators, it would leave Frontier as the biggest discount airline in the United States and analysts believe that could lead to more consolidation from smaller carriers.

Executives from JetBlue stated that purchasing Spirit would provide access to more Airbus jetliners and pilots, plus the merger would help them compete with other major airlines such as Delta and Southwest. JetBlue plans to pay $33.50 per share in cash for Spirit Airlines, though it could face obstacles from the Justice Department due to JetBlue’s alliance with American Airlines in the Northeast.

A securities filing from JetBlue indicated the combined airline would be headquartered in New York City and led by the current CEO of JetBlue, Robin Hayes.

We’ll keep an eye on this potential merger and let you know of any updates! Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for the latest travel news.