A New York Times analysis of a year’s worth of flight schedules from aviation data provider Cirium found that after the sale, it would achieve majority market share on more than a dozen routes that neither JetBlue nor Spirit had a monopoly on. become.
Most of these routes arrive and depart from Florida, where each airline has a strong presence. From Orlando, the larger JetBlue will operate more than 80% of flights to and from San Jose, Costa Rica and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The airline will also operate more than 70% of flights from Fort Lauderdale to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Cancun, Mexico and LaGuardia Airport, New York.
On some routes primarily in and out of Fort Lauderdale, the larger JetBlue is the only option for travelers. These include flights to several destinations in the Caribbean and South America.
To appease regulators, JetBlue has offered a preemptive sale of Spirit’s assets in Boston and New York, where American and JetBlue have partnered. JetBlue also said it expects expansion at major airline hubs such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Miami.
Spirit and JetBlue said they aim to complete the merger by the first half of 2024 and start operating as one carrier in a year’s time. JetBlue agreed to pay Spirit her $70 million and Spirit shareholders her $400 million if regulators blocked the sale.
Even if regulators allow the deal, airline mergers are notoriously difficult to pull off, requiring computer systems, aircraft fleets, corporate cultures, and labor unions to come together under varying rules. Consumer advocates and union leaders have expressed skepticism about the deal, saying workers and customers often lose out in such a combination.
Both JetBlue and Spirit serve customers who are younger than the general population and more likely to have children. Morning Consult Brand Intelligencea research company.
JetBlue’s customers tend to be wealthier, which may reflect the company’s strength in the Northeast, a region with the highest household incomes.