Frontier Airlines CEO Speaks on Complicated Airline Merger

If you’re someone who flies to their Disney vacation, you’re probably always on the lookout for good deals on flights that can help lower the total cost of your vacation. When Frontier Airlines’ parent company announced in February a plan to purchase Spirit Airlines to create the fifth-largest airline carrier in the country, it seemed like a good sign for budget airline pricing. Spirit and Frontier currently sit as the second and third busiest airlines at Orlando International Airport, respectively.

Orlando International Airport

But could this merger be in danger? There are a few factors that might impact the way this deal plays out over the next year.

In an interview with the Associated Press (later published in Click Orlando), Barry Biffle, the CEO of Frontier Airlines discussed the merger with Spirit. In that interview, Biffle talked about the Frontier Airlines stock and shareholders, along with when we can expect more information about merging with Spirit.

MCO

Biffle said that we shouldn’t expect to hear any news about things like the new airline’s name, or where its headquarters will be located until July of this year, as there are still some things that need to be worked out and discussed. He also spoke about the questions raised in Congress about whether this deal will hurt consumers and said that it would not.

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The biggest obstacle for this Spirit-Frontier merger will be the offer that JetBlue just put in for Spirit Airlines. JetBlue recently made a $3.6 billion cash offer for the airline, where the Frontier offer was a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal valued around $6.6 billion. The AP interview with Biffle occurred just a few days before the JetBlue offer was made, and he was not made available for comment following the new offer.