Frontier & Spirit Add Reverse Termination Fee To Merger Agreement

Too little too late….
But I thought the Spirit BOD said Frontier had the superior offer and had a great chance to pass DOJ scrutiny.

Especially after the ISS had come out and said they would recommend the jetblue offer as being superior, noted that Frontier didn’t have a “break up / termination” fee that jetblue had as well as other factors in their reasoning. It just makes the decisions by the Spirit BOD worse and gives credibility to what jetblue has been saying….

Either way I guess we will see what happens on June 10th.

As a stockholder and Spirit loyalty customer, I would be for the Frontier bid if I knew they wouldn't take away the big front seats and make the customer experience worse like it is on Frontier. The way I see it is that JetBlue has a larger international outlook with more chance to grow the business while filling in Jetblue's lack of Midwest USA routes. Frontier routes match up a bit better for regulatory approval purposes but I don't like flying on Frontier's product or the delays in Denver that I ALWAYS seem to experience.

The major concern is that neither Frontier nor JetBlue turn into Spirit, which I sued & won & have happily agreed I would never fly again. So I"m banned for life from a cattle transport with wings.
Frontier already screwed Midwesterners when they took over Midwest Airlines. How much more misery are they going to be allowed to visit on travelers?
I really don't care about Spirit loyalists. You get what you pay for.

What do you mean when you say "Frontier routes match up a bit better for regulatory approval purposes?" Frontier and Spirit have MORE overlap, which would lead to worse prospects of regulatory overlap.

JetBlue + Spirit overlapped on just 11% of scheduled routes in 2021, while Frontier + Spirit was 18%. In # of routes, JetBlue + Spirit overlap on just 48 nonstop routes compared to Frontier + Spirit overlapping on 76 nonstops.

I voted against the Fronter purchase of Spirit. Others should too.

Spirit needs neither Frontier nor Jetblue. Spirit's current management is more competent, and its product/service/route offerings are better than Frontier's.

Jetblue's strategy for Spirit makes little sense. However, Jetblue's objections to Spirit's board make sense, especially regarding acquiescing somewhat readily to Frontier's bid. Spirit's board is affiliated with Bill Franke/ Indigo Partners, Spirit's former owner, and Frontier's current majority owner.

Frontier is just not paying adequately to Spirit's shareholders.

Curious, can you share the circumstances that led to your lawsuit or was it just arbitration+NDA?

I for one hope Frontier gets Spirir:It’s a Win in my mind, an airline for the unwashed, unruly masses and one I would never fly on

Spoken like a stereotypical Xenophobe. Newsflash, John you’re already a member of the unwashed, unruly masses. They’re on EVERY airline in this country - including the three legacy carriers. AA DL & UA.

Since when is Frontier taking over Midwest new? M&A’s in the airline biz. (any biz. for that matter) have been occurring since christ was a child. @ one point in this country, there were over 35 mainline jet airlines. (That, WAS competition, & what you’d have if this merger goes through. Competition to take on the big three legacies that are AA DL & UA.) Continental by UA, the aforementioned Frontier by People’s Exp., US Airways by AA, Northwest Orient by DL, TWA by Eastern. And on & on & on ….

Just exactly what the article said. JB (B6) is a more expensive carrier because of its “in flight cabin offerings/srcvs.” Frontier (F9) & Spirit (NK) do not offer those perks, as both are ULCC - Ultra Low Cost Carriers. DOJ approval is much more likely for the F9 & NK merger. Primarily because you’d have two ULCC, F9 & NK competing against the big three & others like SWA . As B6 (JB) will NOT be lowering its prices or “in flight cabin offerings/srcvs.” to cater/serve to NK (Spirit) pax. B6 will only skyrocket fares & rid the flying public of one more competitive low fare price saving airline for consumers.

Delays ? Got to tell you that’s a part of flying these days. Particular if you fly out large hub congested airports, that lack the land to add runways, concourses terminals & the like. JFK, ATL, DFW, LAX, ORD, MIA, SFO & LGA. The exception airport in this country? DEN sits on 52 sq. miles, & is the second biggest airport in the world (third busiest by pax.) & @ full build out can have 12 runways & handle over 110 M pax. DEN just added 39 new aircraft gates, is expanding its security queues & expanding its people mover trains.

But to your comparison point of carriers. The seats on Frontier & Spirit are no different. Very narrow, w little pitch to be had. And biz. models are EXACTLY alike. Pay À la carte for everything after the initial travel tix. is purchased. Their merger has far more chance to pass muster w the DOJ, as they’re two competing ULCC’s that will make them stronger as one to take on the big three large legacy price gouging carriers. AA DL & UA. And, SWA to some extent. jetBlue is like those four, they aren’t interested in becoming a ULCC company, like Spirit. They just want to break it apart, & offer one less low fare no frills choice/option to the flying pax.

Frontier just added a $250 M break up fee, which would add an additional $2.33 to Spirit shareholders if the deal isn’t consummated.

Jetblue upped their termination fee to $350 million with a $1.50/share advance once a deal is approved by spirit. Plus Frontier said they are done and won’t increase their offer in an SEC filing.
Now Spirit BOD has delayed the Frontier vote till June 30th. Yea think the BOD saw how the votes were coming and was getting some serious pressure from the large investors.
Guess we will see how things plays out, but kinda looks like the Spirit BOD might be interested in talking to Jetblue now and maybe try to negotiate their “golden parachutes”.