See our Advertiser Disclosure and Editorial Note here.
The big surprise news yesterday was the announcement that Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines are merging into one mega low cost carrier. In case you missed the announcement, this merger will create the fifth largest airline in the United States. The airline will offer over 1000 daily flights to 145 destinations in 19 countries.
“Together, Frontier and Spirit will be America’s Greenest Airline and deliver more ultra-low fares to more people in more places,” said Barry Biffle, President and CEO of Frontier. “I couldn’t be more excited for our team members, customers, partners, the communities we serve and our shareholders.”
I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but I do have a few concerns about this merger.
Prices Will Not Be Lower
I’ve flown on Frontier and Spirit many times to Denver and Orlando. These two airlines are competitors for those routes that I use frequently. I seriously doubt that the routes I use most often will go down in price or even remain the same after the merger. They are already lower than Southwest and American. But without another ultra low cost carrier to compete with, I don’t believe that prices will work out in my favor. Less competition is never good.
The Big Front Seat Will Go Away
I’m a big fan of the Big Front Seat on Spirit Airlines. It’s so nice to have a semi-first-class experience at a bargain price. But, with this merger, I’m concerned that these special seats will go away. Frontier does not have these seats.
Since the merger won’t go through until the second half of 2022, I don’t expect any big changes before then. But, I hope that my predictions are wrong.
Does this merger news affect you in any way? Are you a fan of Frontier and/or Spirit?
PS–I hope the Spirit planes get the animals painted on to match the Frontier planes. 🙂
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VARIOUS CREDIT CARDS AND AVAILABLE SIGN-UP BONUSES
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
My home airport unfortunately isn’t served by Spirit, only Frontier. Given a choice, I’d vastly prefer Spirit because of the legendary value of the big front seat. The $1 billion that would be realized from this buyout would be at the expense of the customer. After all, where else would it come from?
Yep. 🙁