In November 2024, Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The airline has lost billions of dollars since the start of the pandemic. The thing that was supposed to save Spirit was a lucrative takeover by JetBlue, but that was ultimately blocked by the Department of Justice.
What’s interesting is that at least on the surface, Spirit’s reorganization is supposed to be quick. It’s a prearranged transaction supported by a supermajority of bondholders, and the plan is for the airline to emerge from bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2025, which is in the coming weeks. In other words, the company is shedding some debt, and then hoping to move on.
However, what actually happens after that? I want to talk about that in more detail in this post.
In this post:
Spirit Airlines is continuing to hemorrhage money
Spirit Airlines has had huge debt issues, but let’s forget about that for a moment, and assume that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing solves those legacy debt issues. What the bankruptcy filing doesn’t help with is that the airline continues to run absolutely massive operating losses (Spirit isn’t renegotiating any of its labor contracts in bankruptcy).
How bad is the situation at Spirit? Well, in the first three quarters of 2024, the airline had revenue of $3.7 billion, and operating costs of $4.4 billion. Not only that, but nothing about the airline actually seems to be heading in the right direction. That performance is significantly worse than the same period the year prior, where there was revenue of $4 billion and operating costs of $4.3 billion.
For that matter, for the third quarter of 2024 (year-over-year), Spirit’s yields have dropped from 11.23 cents to 10.66 cents, and Spirit’s average revenue per passenger per segment has dropped from $116 to $105.
Yes, Spirit is receiving new equity, in the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars. But that’s also what the airline burns through in a matter of months.
The company’s management has presented its restructuring plan, and honestly, there’s just not much to it. If anything, it involves all kinds of things that increase costs, while only questionably increasing revenue. We’re talking things like adding power ports to jets, offering free Wi-Fi to loyalty program members, providing all passengers with free water and snacks, etc.
I also love the vague concept of how the airline will update its route network to become profitable, like redeploying dozens of aircraft from the cities with the lowest revenue performance. Like, isn’t that what the airline has historically done?
Which airline will acquire Spirit (or its assets)?
I really want Spirit Airlines to succeed. But I’m also not an idiot, and I can do basic math, like figuring out that $4.4 billion in costs is more than $3.7 billion in revenue, and that the gap continuing to widen is no bueno.
Spirit isn’t just losing a little bit of money, it’s losing a lot of money. And nothing the airline has outlined so far suggests to me that this will change, even after the carrier emerges from bankruptcy.
Realistically speaking, I have to imagine that the plan with this reorganization is simply to package Spirit into something that’s a semi-enticing acquisition target. If the carrier hadn’t gone through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it would’ve just been liquidated.
But by turning some debt into equity, maybe the goal is to instead sell off the airline and get something for it. You know the phrase “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” I think in the case of Spirit, the inverse is true at this point — “the sum of its parts is greater than the whole.”
Spirit has around 200 Airbus A320-family aircraft, most of which are “neos,” and on top of that, has a significant presence in Fort Lauderdale (FLL). But what more is there to the airline, really? Could we see Frontier try to acquire Spirit once again? Could JetBlue be interested, and essentially try the takeover again, but with much better terms? Could one of the “big three” carriers somehow get involved?
With Trump now being president, there would likely be less scrutiny of airline consolidation. Now, I still think that there might be an issue if it’s a deal involving the “big three” US carriers, but I don’t think there would be much objection to a Frontier or JetBlue deal.
I’d say that this is a great chance for Frontier to finally become a huge, national low cost carrier. But much like Spirit, Frontier has pivoted, and at this point is just trying to replicate the legacy airlines.
That gets at a bigger issue in the US airline industry, which is that credit cards basically subsidize flying. Even profitable carriers like Delta and United have very low margins with carrying passengers (if any), with their cost per air seat mile often exceeding their passenger revenue per air seat mile.
I still think the best play here could be a deal with JetBlue. With proper management, I think JetBlue could accomplish on the East Coast what Alaska has accomplished on the West Coast.
Bottom line
Spirit Airlines is currently going through a quick Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. While this might help with the carrier’s debt, it does nothing to address the massive ongoing operating losses, because Spirit’s business model just isn’t working.
Spirit is burning through close to a billion dollars per year, and there are no signs of that changing. I just don’t see any way that this airline has an independent future. I guess we’ll find out more in the coming months.
How do you see the situation playing out with Spirit once it emerges from Chapter 11?
I believe that Spirit will merge with Frontier. David Neeleman said late last year that Frontier was the best fit for Spirit because they have many similarities. But I can't rule out Jetblue either. Although JetBlue's CEO said that the airline wasn't interested in a merger right now and wanted to focus on turning around Jetblue when asked by a reporter if her airline is interested in merging with another one.
Spirit Airlines now decided that just charging more for the same poor service is going to help them out of their financial problems. I don't believe management and I mean top level management is really trying to save the company at all
What is not mentioned is the Pratt and Whitney engine issues Spirit is experiencing. The company has received little in compensation from PW. They are carrying the debt load of parked AC. The number of AC being parked will go from about 27 currently to maybe just under 50 by the end of 2025. This is the main issue for Spirit. Business model adjustments have been made and will continue to evolve in the future. Labor costs are still lower than the legacy carriers.
it is hard to believe that P&W can get by with this but it isn't just NK that is being impacted by the GTF issue.
It will make airlines in the future very wary of taking risks on all-new aircraft or engines in the future if manufacturers can get by with this.
And NK is being hard hit but so are other low cost and ultra low cost carriers including WN that don't use the GTF. There are revenue and business strategy issues.
Agree, Spirit needs to do something about labor cost in order to right the ship. Without this move, will continue to bleed money.
If it goes Chapter 7, see a major scramble for airframes and gates. Pilots are in a surplus mode at the moment.
Even if comes out of Chapter 11, will need a dance partner ASAP. Frontier would be the logical choice and has major backing via Indigo. B6 just doesn’t...
Agree, Spirit needs to do something about labor cost in order to right the ship. Without this move, will continue to bleed money.
If it goes Chapter 7, see a major scramble for airframes and gates. Pilots are in a surplus mode at the moment.
Even if comes out of Chapter 11, will need a dance partner ASAP. Frontier would be the logical choice and has major backing via Indigo. B6 just doesn’t have the cash right now. Even with Trump in office, I don’t see the DOT allowing one of the Big Four to absorb it. Also, state AGs can challenge any merger buying up precious time.
and the problem is that labor costs have permanently been reset higher as a result of DL being the first of the big 4 to agree to a post-covid pilot contract and then following up with higher pay for the rest of its workers.
Pilots and mechanics are the most skilled large groups of airline labor and airlines for years have kept the salaries between those groups pretty closely in line with other labor groups...
and the problem is that labor costs have permanently been reset higher as a result of DL being the first of the big 4 to agree to a post-covid pilot contract and then following up with higher pay for the rest of its workers.
Pilots and mechanics are the most skilled large groups of airline labor and airlines for years have kept the salaries between those groups pretty closely in line with other labor groups partly as a result of union pressure.
NK as well as no other airline can pay its skilled labor less and that reality has an impact on other groups including ground staff and FAs. Airlines can outsource some job to try to get lower costs but even domestic MROs have to pay comparable wages for airline mechanics
NK and every other carrier has to figure out how to generate higher REVENUES. As Ben notes, it is far from clear that NK has figured that part of the formula out but it is revenue, not costs, that are the part of the formula that the LCCs and ULCCs are struggling to copy from legacies to the extent that they can
Disagree with you on the matter of labor costs. They are still lower than the legacy carriers. That is an easy target and talking point.
but they are not low enough relative to revenue.
As above, singularly blaming P&W isn't the whole answer to what is wrong.
Personally, I believe Sun Country is in play for acquiring Spirit. Sun country has proven time and time again that they can supplement off peak periods. With MSP as their only crew base, it provides an easy approval for it to go through. They have been consistently profitable since the pandemic and are robust in their business model where they can adjust to market demands. ACY- sun country runs year round charters for the casinos,...
Personally, I believe Sun Country is in play for acquiring Spirit. Sun country has proven time and time again that they can supplement off peak periods. With MSP as their only crew base, it provides an easy approval for it to go through. They have been consistently profitable since the pandemic and are robust in their business model where they can adjust to market demands. ACY- sun country runs year round charters for the casinos, LAS- sun country has casino operations year round in IFP. They fly Cancun out of DFW all the time in the summer and they have cargo out of AFW. LAL for cargo and MCO is a high demand route for SY already. I’m top of all of it, sun country would be a dual fleet airline which has been proven to be the best recipe for reliable air travel in the industry. With Amazon expecting more -330F’s it would be a great option for the long term for sun country to spirit. Their CEO saved the airline during the pandemic with Amazon. He is used to airbus, he has taken over for airlines that weren’t in great shape and turned them into profitable airlines. if anyone can save Spirit it would be sun country.
I'm not sure the entry into MIA was worth it, and I don't think NK took advantage of the opportunity. Yes, they got concessions from Cava and her gulag buddies that run the airport but NK started routes that had a significant amount of competition (MIA-LGA, are you kidding?).
NK should have jumped on the monopoly AA routes to the Carib and Latin America (that their aircraft have the range to do).
I am...
I'm not sure the entry into MIA was worth it, and I don't think NK took advantage of the opportunity. Yes, they got concessions from Cava and her gulag buddies that run the airport but NK started routes that had a significant amount of competition (MIA-LGA, are you kidding?).
NK should have jumped on the monopoly AA routes to the Carib and Latin America (that their aircraft have the range to do).
I am not a fan of NK and based on my last experience several years ago I have never flown them since.
Nonetheless, I do hope they survive in one form or another for the good of their employees and for the disruption it has caused for the Big 4.
If F9 or B6 don’t take another swing at Buying NK I can see either UA or WN making a move for them. UA needs a stronger Florida presence Buy NK would give them a significant South Florida operation and a bigger operation in LAS. UA could easily walk away from a plethora of NK markets and redeploy most of the 200 NK Airbuses out of FLL internationally while increasing the connectivity to other UA...
If F9 or B6 don’t take another swing at Buying NK I can see either UA or WN making a move for them. UA needs a stronger Florida presence Buy NK would give them a significant South Florida operation and a bigger operation in LAS. UA could easily walk away from a plethora of NK markets and redeploy most of the 200 NK Airbuses out of FLL internationally while increasing the connectivity to other UA strongholds.
WN on the other hand would sale off the EWR operations,Gain back the FLL market share it couldn’t get organically against both NK and B6. Grab 15 more gates at LAS to bolster its dominance at the Airport. Sale off the NK gates At LAX, Gain more LGA slots. Better Gates at ORD . In addition With WN HUGE Boeing order book WN could easily Sell all the Airbus aircraft and Deliver slots. Eliminating another Lower cost bottom feeders would shore up some of WN losses especially east of the Mississippi.
WN is not even hitting its own delivery goals, and won't for years due to the backlog from the MAX-7... there's not a snowball's chance in hell they could "sell all the Airbus aircraft and deliver(y) spots" and come off with anywhere near a value proposition for entering a transaction in the first place.
Why don't JetBlue, Alaska, and Hawaiian all join together to create a national competitor to the three legacy US carriers (and WN domestically)?
I think that would be an interesting discussion.
because AS knows they cannot fix the financial and strategic problems of multiple airlines.
HA is a big enough rehab project.
AS is historically a pretty well-run company from a business perspective. They have to demonstrate that they can make good money after the HA merger and reallocation of assets.
If one or more airlines are still around at that point, then perhaps AS will dip its toes into the market again and...
because AS knows they cannot fix the financial and strategic problems of multiple airlines.
HA is a big enough rehab project.
AS is historically a pretty well-run company from a business perspective. They have to demonstrate that they can make good money after the HA merger and reallocation of assets.
If one or more airlines are still around at that point, then perhaps AS will dip its toes into the market again and B6 might be the best choice then.
but even from a network standpoint, B6 is predominantly an east coast airline while even the "new" AS will be a western airline - with big holes in the middle of the country which the big 4 all fill quite well.
B6 is not capable of absorbing the losses any more than NK's creditors can
B6 is not capable of absorbing NK's losses any more than NK's creditors can.
The big 4 will not get the ok to acquire a significant part of any other airline's assets; the notion that the DOJ will cave to mass consolidation of the airline industry just because the administration has changed is naive.
This is the time for NK to take massive losses and doing so is common in chapter 11 cases - not...
B6 is not capable of absorbing NK's losses any more than NK's creditors can.
The big 4 will not get the ok to acquire a significant part of any other airline's assets; the notion that the DOJ will cave to mass consolidation of the airline industry just because the administration has changed is naive.
This is the time for NK to take massive losses and doing so is common in chapter 11 cases - not just for previous airlines but also in other industries.
and the P&W GTF engine issue is the biggest hindrance to NK's recovery. Only a few large airlines and leasing companies can wait years for it to be resolved; in the meantime, any airline that holds those aircraft will suffer losses. Bigger airlines have the ability to use NEOs to keep them flying as long as possible.
I get that availability and wait times are a thing, but otherwise, I'll never understand why any airline would rely on PW for a substantial amount of their operations.
Didn't they learn that lesson after the PW4173 failure?
...or the PW4098 disaster? ...or the PW4092? ...or the PW6000? ...or the PW2040?
All massive failures/delays/MRO nightmares. All screwed airlines completely over.
Airbus and Boeing have not selected PW to be the sole powerplant of even...
I get that availability and wait times are a thing, but otherwise, I'll never understand why any airline would rely on PW for a substantial amount of their operations.
Didn't they learn that lesson after the PW4173 failure?
...or the PW4098 disaster? ...or the PW4092? ...or the PW6000? ...or the PW2040?
All massive failures/delays/MRO nightmares. All screwed airlines completely over.
Airbus and Boeing have not selected PW to be the sole powerplant of even a single widebody derivative, for more than a quarter century. They've noticed, and they get it.
Not sure why the airlines are so forgiving, on narrowbodies.
Do you not bet that GE wishes that the Leap wasn’t the exclusive powerplant on the Max?
Funny that most NEOs are Pratt powered among US carriers
And someone will make money fixing all those GTFs. And among US airlines it will be Delta. And people think that United will match Delta’s revenue production
I'm not sure what exactly you're actually asking here, due to the double negatives, but if you're saying "Does GE wish the MAX had powerplant competition?" then my response would be: No, why would they?
Concorde,
I am saying that GE - which makes the far more reliable but still not perfect new generation narrowbody powerplant - wished they could sell more engines. They committed a certain amount of their production capacity to the MAX which has been very slow in deliveries so, yes, I would bet that GE wished NOW that there were GTFs on MAXes so they could have sold more LEAPs on A320NEO family aircraft which...
Concorde,
I am saying that GE - which makes the far more reliable but still not perfect new generation narrowbody powerplant - wished they could sell more engines. They committed a certain amount of their production capacity to the MAX which has been very slow in deliveries so, yes, I would bet that GE wished NOW that there were GTFs on MAXes so they could have sold more LEAPs on A320NEO family aircraft which Airbus is delivering much closer to on-time.
GE doesn't have an endless amount of capacity and many airframe/engine combination orders were set years ago.
Well to start with Spirit is not just spending more money here. They are bot giving everyone water or a snack. The writer might want to stay up-to-date on what they are doing before writing an article. Plus they changing there routes to more profitable ones and changing the schedule to fly more over the weekends and less during the week. Here again the writer gets that wrong. We it all work out, I don't...
Well to start with Spirit is not just spending more money here. They are bot giving everyone water or a snack. The writer might want to stay up-to-date on what they are doing before writing an article. Plus they changing there routes to more profitable ones and changing the schedule to fly more over the weekends and less during the week. Here again the writer gets that wrong. We it all work out, I don't know, but they sold 23 ariplanes for cash and less payments going forward. Each parked airplane they have is essentially not costing them any money(but not making any either) with the payments from Pratt. The payments for 2023 & 2025 still have to be negotiated but they won't lose money on them. Spirit has shrunk to profitability before. Can they do it again we shall see. My bet is on them being bought out by June, time will tell. But getting that debt taken care makes them way more likely to be bought out by Frontier or JetBlue. Still think 1 of the majors will make a play as well.
" DOJ will cave to mass consolidation of the airline industry just because the administration has changed is naive." Tim Dunn
I have never responded to any of the hundreds of Tim's postings concerning Delta Airlines. But I must respond to the absurdity of the above quote concerning what we can expect from the Trump Administration in terms of consoilidation, anti-trust and regulatory enforcement. Holland and Knight, one of the leading law firrms in aviation...
" DOJ will cave to mass consolidation of the airline industry just because the administration has changed is naive." Tim Dunn
I have never responded to any of the hundreds of Tim's postings concerning Delta Airlines. But I must respond to the absurdity of the above quote concerning what we can expect from the Trump Administration in terms of consoilidation, anti-trust and regulatory enforcement. Holland and Knight, one of the leading law firrms in aviation law stated:
"Although airline merger and alliance transactions are extremely fact-specific, the new administration will likely take a more permissive approach to cooperation between airline competitors than seen in the Biden Administration. The Trump campaign and first Trump Administration embraced a laissez-faire approach to mergers and joint ventures. By contrast, the Biden Administration has sharply criticized consolidation in the airline industry and in other sectors of the American economy and challenged several airline mergers and commercial alliances."
Indeed, airline executives have generally anticipated to see more merger activity under Trump.
Some analysts have speculated that Spirit could merge with another airline if it exits bankruptcy. David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue, Azul and Breeze, told Skift he felt fairly certain that a Spirit-Frontier merger could happen in 2025. At the Skift Aviation Forum in November, both American and JetBlue hinted at the possibility of reviving the Northeast Alliance, which was struck down under the Biden administration.
Finally, Project 2025’s chapter on the DOT stated that a new administration would be more supportive of “joint-venture efforts by smaller carriers,” citing JetBlue-Spirit as an example.
Tim, there is a long spoken maxim, "elections have consequences." One of those consequences will be far less resistance to airline mergers and concolidation. It is naieve to think otherwise.
there is also a long-spoken that everyone has an opinion and an orifice on the backside of their body but having either doesn't make anything else fact.
You and others DESPERATELY want to believe that the Trump administration will throw out every metric related to merger analysis in order to bless consolidation that the market and any other administration would not allow.
The NEA was shot down because it was a revenue merger without the...
there is also a long-spoken that everyone has an opinion and an orifice on the backside of their body but having either doesn't make anything else fact.
You and others DESPERATELY want to believe that the Trump administration will throw out every metric related to merger analysis in order to bless consolidation that the market and any other administration would not allow.
The NEA was shot down because it was a revenue merger without the merger analysis. as much as you want to believe that the Trump DOJ will just waive everything it has ever done on airline mergers to revive the NEA, the reality is that AA and B6 could have done an AA/AS type relationship years ago - but AA has failed in NYC and wants to bail out B6 which has also failed.
Two failures never make a success.
that's also a maxim or factoid or whatever you want to call it.
and B6 doesn't have the money to buy out NK. maybe they'll find some financiers to sell their soul to in order to make a merger work but the only result will be that B6 will never succeed financially
carriers fail and other carriers absorb the lost market souhare. that has happened for years.
Why people continue to think that every failed carrier and strategy has to be bought by someone else I don't know, but that is the opposite of the norm that has happened in the industry
I think you talk in big words but do not support the specifics of what the "norm of the industry" actually is. In fact there seems to be very little norm.
Could talk about the Delta Northwest merger within Chapter 11 of 2 failures becoming a success, (which happened under a Republican administration). Of Pan Am disbanding, of Frontier's or Continental restructurations.
I think big swooping statements do not reflect the reality of...
I think you talk in big words but do not support the specifics of what the "norm of the industry" actually is. In fact there seems to be very little norm.
Could talk about the Delta Northwest merger within Chapter 11 of 2 failures becoming a success, (which happened under a Republican administration). Of Pan Am disbanding, of Frontier's or Continental restructurations.
I think big swooping statements do not reflect the reality of what's happening which is a game of timing and opportunities, of which the political acquaintances of the various actors are of course a part of, like their finances, shareholder composition, network, assets needs etc.
As a lot of this information is confidential/competitive/circumstancial I strongly doubt the accuracy of any of those predictive comments as to what is or is not part of the possible outcomes of this Chapter 11 filing.
Delta/Northwest was not only the first of the now 4 megacarrier mergers but it had the least amount of overlap which is why it was called just about a perfect end on end merger. End on end mergers join two companies that have little overlap but grow their overall size.
One of the main factors that the DOJ uses to evaluate mergers is decrease in competition in markets - which is why there were no...
Delta/Northwest was not only the first of the now 4 megacarrier mergers but it had the least amount of overlap which is why it was called just about a perfect end on end merger. End on end mergers join two companies that have little overlap but grow their overall size.
One of the main factors that the DOJ uses to evaluate mergers is decrease in competition in markets - which is why there were no divestitures in the DL/NW merger, in contrast to other megamergers.
Because it was the first megamerger, the DOJ could not have predicted how or if the rest of the industry consolidated, but now that the big 4 has been created, it is impossible to believe that further consolidation will be beneficial to consumers which is what the DOJ is interested in.
B6/NK was rejected because it involved taking a ULCC carrier and using its assets by a LCC and that would be the same today. There has never been a recent merger in the US airline industry where a "higher type" (legacy/network or LCC) airline acquires a "lower type" airline - an LCC or ULCC either of which eliminates a lower fare competitor by default.
There is no reason to think the same objections and concerns again.
Even if F9 acquires or mergers with NK, you effectively have one ULCC which will raise ULCC fares.
There is an equally large likelihood that smaller failing carriers will simply shrink in multiple rounds of bankruptcies and other carriers will simply grow organically.
let's see how this all plays out but the notion that a merger will fix a couple of broken companies or segments of the industry is likely not realistic from a financial standpoint but also from a regulatory perspective.
Under the DOJ's review terms of the US/AA merger, DL/NW had a lot of overlap in their networks. The only difference is that the two mergers were approved using a different definition of overlap from the Feds.
well, know the DOJ didn't say that DL/NW had a lot of overlap and it is obvious that they didn't.
Feel free to tell us not just where that overlap existed but also what the DOJ said.
DL could have picked anyone for a merger partner but AA and US were the only two nationwide legacy carriers left.
AA and US were the last of the big 4 megamergers and not it was actually...
well, know the DOJ didn't say that DL/NW had a lot of overlap and it is obvious that they didn't.
Feel free to tell us not just where that overlap existed but also what the DOJ said.
DL could have picked anyone for a merger partner but AA and US were the only two nationwide legacy carriers left.
AA and US were the last of the big 4 megamergers and not it was actually a bunch of states' attorneys general that required the divestitures that mattered in addition to the overlap at DCA.
You love to move the goal posts because you can't deal with the actual facts, Jane.
"You and others DESPERATELY want to believe that the Trump administration will throw out every metric related to merger analysis in order to bless consolidation that the market and any other administration would not allow."
In what universe do you live? I never stated anything close to that--I simply stated the consensus--that Donald Trump will not follow an aggressive regulatory approach. But it seems the only way to make this clear to the Delta sychophant...
"You and others DESPERATELY want to believe that the Trump administration will throw out every metric related to merger analysis in order to bless consolidation that the market and any other administration would not allow."
In what universe do you live? I never stated anything close to that--I simply stated the consensus--that Donald Trump will not follow an aggressive regulatory approach. But it seems the only way to make this clear to the Delta sychophant that you are is to quote Ed Bastion:
With the upcoming change of administration, airline executives anticipate a somewhat more relaxed regulatory environment regarding consumer protection in the future. Delta CEO Ed Bastian shared this perspective as he and other company executives prepared to meet with Wall Street analysts at an investor event on November 20, 2024, according to a report by NBC News. Bastian noted that Trump had pledged "to take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy within government, and the overreach our industry has experienced over the past four years."
My major point (and those of ethe sources I cited which you, as per your appraoch, chose to ignoree is that mergers and aquisitions will be treated more favorably by the new Administration. Don't believe me or even your God, Ed. How about this:
An annual year-end survey of corporate and private equity dealmakers found that 76% of respondents said the election results would increase U.S. M&A activity, while 80% said it increased their own appetite for deals. Potential tax policy changes were seen as boosting M&A activity by 81% of dealmakers, while 79% said the election will lead to an easier regulatory or antitrust environment for deals.
Similar sentiments were found in a recent survey conducted by Teneo that found 83% of CEOs and 87% of investors expect that the market for mergers and acquisitions will experience a major return in 2025, up from 68% last year. The share of respondents who expect "significantly more" M&A activity rose from 17% to 37% among CEOs and from 26% to 34% for investors.
Sorry Tim--I know that facts can be stubborn things.
first, his name is Bastian. with an A. It is amazing that someone that can't even properly spell someone's name lectures someone else about "facts."
second, DL is not interested in a merger and wouldn't be approved for one if it asked.
DL is interested in a relaxed regularly environment which has included the DOT's aggressive approach to penalizing airlines for any infraction of its business model that the DOT, not Congress, has regulated....
first, his name is Bastian. with an A. It is amazing that someone that can't even properly spell someone's name lectures someone else about "facts."
second, DL is not interested in a merger and wouldn't be approved for one if it asked.
DL is interested in a relaxed regularly environment which has included the DOT's aggressive approach to penalizing airlines for any infraction of its business model that the DOT, not Congress, has regulated.
third, nowhere did BastiAn or Delta indicate that their interest is in merger policy.
fourth, you and others have taken what is clearly going to be a RELAXED regulatory environment to mean easier mergers.
That is not what Bastian said and that is not the most likely thing to change. The DOT's onerous invention of rules and punishment on the airline industry IS what BastiAn and the rest of airline industry will see first. and it might be the ONLY changes that the they see.
and has it ever occurred to you and others that, if big airlines are going to get their way with the Trump administration, the last thing they want is to see a bunch of money-losing small airlines get rehabilitated and allowed to merge?
Really? The best you can come up with is a typo of the spelling of a name? Pathetic.
Again, you invent arguments to refute. I never said Delta wanted to merge with anyone. My point, which you have refuted as effectively as most attempted defenses of Delta, was that the Trump Administration would be less rigorous (relaxi--look it up) in its treatment of consolidation and merger. Finally, another invention--that I argued the big airlines...
Really? The best you can come up with is a typo of the spelling of a name? Pathetic.
Again, you invent arguments to refute. I never said Delta wanted to merge with anyone. My point, which you have refuted as effectively as most attempted defenses of Delta, was that the Trump Administration would be less rigorous (relaxi--look it up) in its treatment of consolidation and merger. Finally, another invention--that I argued the big airlines are going to get their was with the Trump Administrtion. Where did I say that?
Tim, stay in your lane--acting as a sychophant for Delta. It is cler you are incapable of dealing with the merger and consolidation issue. You have failed to address any of the facts presented to you.
Did you, in your haste to correct my spelling error, fail to read:
An annual year-end survey of corporate and private equity dealmakers found that 76% of respondents said the election results would increase U.S. M&A activity, while 80% said it increased their own appetite for deals. Potential tax policy changes were seen as boosting M&A activity by 81% of dealmakers, while 79% said the election will lead to an easier regulatory or antitrust environment for deals.
Similar sentiments were found in a recent survey conducted by Teneo that found 83% of CEOs and 87% of investors expect that the market for mergers and acquisitions will experience a major return in 2025, up from 68% last year. The share of respondents who expect "significantly more" M&A activity rose from 17% to 37% among CEOs and from 26% to 34% for investors.
Great article, I agree Spirit is not on the right track. While Spirit has trimmed some routes, I expected more drastic measures such as lopping off large parts of their fairly new West Coast network. What do a handful of flights from Las Vegas to Albuquerque, Boise and Portland do for their larger strategy? Are the intra-California routes profitable? They dropped Denver but Salt Lake City can't be that profitable right? Spirit went into St....
Great article, I agree Spirit is not on the right track. While Spirit has trimmed some routes, I expected more drastic measures such as lopping off large parts of their fairly new West Coast network. What do a handful of flights from Las Vegas to Albuquerque, Boise and Portland do for their larger strategy? Are the intra-California routes profitable? They dropped Denver but Salt Lake City can't be that profitable right? Spirit went into St. Louis, added flights but then found people did not return after their first flight. If that has been the experience in those other places, why are they still flying those routes?
Agree, the assets in FLL are the best match for B6. The Air Show had some comments this week about subtle tweaks B6 was making in schedules to use BOS and JFK more as a regional hub (less point-to-point). And I'm pretty sure I've heard a recent interview of Marty St. George mention that FLL was a very good city for them. That seemed to be the motive for the first merger as much as...
Agree, the assets in FLL are the best match for B6. The Air Show had some comments this week about subtle tweaks B6 was making in schedules to use BOS and JFK more as a regional hub (less point-to-point). And I'm pretty sure I've heard a recent interview of Marty St. George mention that FLL was a very good city for them. That seemed to be the motive for the first merger as much as the planes. There's also a decent presence in Orlando, Detroit, and Tampa, and some useful slots for LGA. But having a lock on east coast Caribbean traffic with a full-fledged hub in FLL would be a big deal.
Where B6 is not a big match is the Las Vegas and LAX part of the network. I would imagine that any takeover would include some asset trading with Frontier or other airlines. I'm no expert, just someone that prefers flying B6 when available. Having a more robust route network would be appealing to me.
Spirit may emerge as a regional carrier or a charter airline like the other low cost airlines focus on.
JetBlue FA’s & ground crew have become evil, including in the legendary “Mint.”
Looks like it will emerge from bankruptcy and in not too long a time go right back into it. Any merger partner is going to have to figure out how to stop the bleeding of money with Spirit, is it worth the risk?