Frontier Airlines + Spirit Airlines = ????

Spirit Airlines A-319 (top) and Frontier Airlines A-320 (bottom) are shown in final approach to Chicago-O'Hare International Airport on Saturday, June 29, 2019

Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines plan to merge. 

Denver, Colorado-based Frontier and Miramar, Florida-based Spirit announced the deal this morning. The $6.6 billion deal to combine the nation's two largest Ultra-Low Cost Carriers (ULCC) will, if approved by regulators, create its fifth-largest airline. 

Frontier Airlines' owners will control 51.5 percent of the merged airline while Spirit will own 48.5 percent. This may mean the carrier will retain the Frontier name. 

Interestingly, Indigo had once controlled Spirit Airlines but divested of that carrier in July 2013. It acquired Frontier at the end of the year. Both carriers rely on a fleet of Airbus twin jets. Frontier operates A-320 and A-321s while Spirit has A-319, A-320 and A-321s. 


LOCAL ANGLE
Frontier Airlines offers seasonal nonstops out of Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport to Denver, Orlando and Tampa. Whether the combined carrier will expand these offerings to additional cities unclear, but certainly possible. 

Frontier, which as 112 aircraft and 116 destinations, operates a hub-and-spoke system out of Denver and has focus cities at Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa and Trenton (NJ). 

Spirit Airlines, which has a 175 aircraft and 83 destinations, lacks a true hub, but has focus cities at Atlantic City (NJ), Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit (Metro), Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Orlando. 

I'm sure CIRA officials are hopeful that the merged carrier will see opportunities for new service out of their facility. 

- David P. Jordan

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