JetBlue Airways is set to acquire Spirit Airlines after the deal was given the green light by investors Wednesday.
The vote marks the next step in JetBlue’s journey to acquire Spirit Airlines, with the former airline disrupting Frontier Airlines’s intent to acquire Spirit by making a surprise bid. JetBlue values Spirit at $3.8 billion and expects to complete its acquisition of Spirit no later than the first half of 2024, according to the New York Times.
“This is an important step forward on our path to closing a combination that will create the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers,” read a statement from Ted Christie, the chief executive of Spirit Airlines.
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While this vote marks another step toward completing the deal between the two airlines, there are still several other factors that need to be taken care of. In September, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to exercise an authority to prevent the merger, arguing in a letter that there is “ample evidence that yet another huge airline merger would likely harm American consumers.”
JetBlue has insisted that its acquisition will not harm customers but rather benefit them. In the case of the acquisition going through, Spirit Airlines would no longer exist and its airplanes would be rebranded as JetBlue aircraft.
“We look forward to continuing our ongoing discussions with regulators as we work toward completing the transaction and delivering value to team members, guests, and stockholders,” Christie said.
The Justice Department has begun a review of JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit, which comes amid a lawsuit from the department to prevent a partnership between JetBlue and American Airlines in Boston and New York. A slew of petitioners from the Justice Department, six states, and the District of Columbia argued that the Northeast Alliance between the two has upped costs by about $700 million annually, according to a report.
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American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has defended the alliance, arguing that it is critical to providing consumers with affordable alternative flights amid fierce competition from Delta and United. Isom also insisted that his company would struggle to broaden its operations in the Northeast without the JetBlue partnership.
