Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Well-Being Travel
  • Training & Events
  • Who We Are
    • Anne Marie Moebes
    • Brian Israel
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Kelly Fontenelle

Spirit Airlines Rejects More Lucrative JetBlue Offer Over Regulatory Concerns

by Daniel McCarthy / May 02, 2022
JetBlue Spirit Frontier Deal Merger

Photo: YES Market Media / Shutterstock.com


Spirit Airlines on Monday announced that it was rejecting the deal with JetBlue Airways because it does not believe that U.S. regulators will allow the deal to go through.

Spirit will now look to complete its previous-agreed-to deal with Frontier, a deal that, while worth significantly less than the offer from JetBlue, it believes has a better chance at clearing regulatory hurdles.

“We believe a combination of JetBlue and Spirit has a low probability of receiving antitrust clearance so long as JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance with American Airlines remains in existence,” Spirit said in a statement on Monday.

“Given the substantial completion risk, we believe JetBlue’s economic offer is illusory, and Spirit’s board has not found it necessary to consider it.”  

JetBlue had made an “unsolicited offer” of $33 per share all in cash, weeks after the original offer from Frontier’s parent company Frontier Group Holdings. JetBlue’s offer was reportedly, in total, around $3.6 billion to acquire Spirit, more than the $2.9 billion cash-and-stock merger deal that was on the table with Frontier.

While Spirit had already announced that it had agreed to the Frontier “merger,” the JetBlue offer gave the company second thoughts and Spirit then announced it was set to engage JetBlue in discussions.

Monday’s news ends those discussions and now sets Spirit, and Frontier, on their own mission to get regulatory approval, a task that could be difficult even though Spirit believes it more likely than if it had agreed to the JetBlue deal.

Some lawmakers in the U.S. have already expressed concerns, and others have zeroed in on competition in the airline space, including a federal suit from the Justice Department from last year that targeted an alliance between American and JetBlue.

  14
  0
Related Articles
Spirit Airlines Says It Is Now Engaging JetBlue, Still Working with Frontier
Spirit Delays Vote on Potential Frontier Merger to June 30
Ahead of Shareholder Vote, JetBlue Sweetens Proposal to Acquire Spirit
Spirit and Frontier Add $250 Million Termination Fee to Deal
Spirit Airlines Tells Shareholders to Reject JetBlue Bid
JetBlue’s Deal for Spirit Is Not Done Yet
U.S. Airlines React to the Lifting of the Federal Mask Mandate
Spirit Airlines Says It Will Now “Engage” JetBlue in Talks After $3.6 Billion Offer
Spirit Airlines Is Adding 4 New Flights Out of Newark
Low-Cost Carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier to Combine

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. A&K Purchases Crystal Ships, Revives Crystal Cruises Brand
  2. European Countries Will Soon Start Requiring Inbound Travelers Pay a Fee Prior to Travel
  3. Travel to Italy Is Officially Back to Normal
  4. CDC Adds Three Caribbean Destinations to “High-Risk” COVID-19 List
  5. Viking Drops Onboard & Pre-Cruise COVID-19 Testing
  6. Three Cruise Lines Bring Masks Back in Alaska

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. Travel to Italy Is Officially Back to Normal
  2. Report: U.S. to End COVID-19 Air Travel Testing Requirement
  3. European Countries Will Soon Start Requiring Inbound Travelers Pay a Fee Prior to Travel
  4. A&K Purchases Crystal Ships, Revives Crystal Cruises Brand
  5. Japan Could Boot Tourists Who Disobey COVID-19 Rules
  6. Viking Drops Onboard & Pre-Cruise COVID-19 Testing
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
What You Need to Know About LGBTQ+ Travelers
What You Need to Know About LGBTQ+ Travelers

The LGBTQ+ travel market is a market the travel advisor community can’t afford to ignore.

Read...
Disney Cruise Line Christens Newest Ship, Disney Wish, at Port Canaveral
Disney Cruise Line Christens Newest Ship, Disney Wish, at Port Canaveral

An occasion six years in the making, Disney Cruise Line christens Disney Wish. 

Read...
Silversea Adds Fly-Cruise Antarctic Voyages
Silversea Adds Fly-Cruise Antarctic Voyages

Demand for Antarctic voyages that bypass the Drake Passage is growing. 

Read...
Yacht-Style Cruising: A Niche Within a Niche
Yacht-Style Cruising: A Niche Within a Niche

Is yacht-style cruising different from small-ship cruising or is it merely branding and marketing? 

Read...
Travel Advisors Discuss Challenges – and Solutions – at TMP East 2022
Travel Advisors Discuss Challenges – and Solutions – at TMP East 2022

Advisors traded challenges and solutions during a peer-to-peer session at TMP East in Toronto.

Read...
Two More Airlines Join TSA PreCheck
Two More Airlines Join TSA PreCheck

Two more airlines have been added to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) PreCheck known traveler program.

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
CP White Paper
Multi-Gen Outlook
Distribution Outlook (1)
New to Cruise Outlook
Expedition 2020
River Cruise Outlook 2019
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/QTPIinGDcIY/0.jpg
Video: Can Booking Bachelor and Bachelorette Party Groups Be Profitable for Advisors?
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|Well-Being|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2022 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy