For the second time, Spirit Airlines' planned merger with another airline has failed, as Jetblue has announced that it will no longer pursue the plan. The merger agreement, which was signed in July 2022, will be terminated by mutual consent.

Spirit Airlines management originally planned to merge with competitor Frontier. This was actually agreed upon, but Jetblue Airways then made an offer and Spirit's shareholders blocked the Frontier plan and gave preference to Jetblue. The merger with Frontier therefore failed.

From the outset, there were concerns from the US competition authority about the merger between Spirit and Jetblue. This banned the deal and a district court also confirmed the office's legal opinion. The two low-cost airlines initially filed an appeal against this. However, the appeal hearing should not take place until June 2024.

This is now likely to be invalid, as Spirit and Jetblue communicated in separate media releases on March 4, 2024 that it was decided that the merger agreement, which will be signed in July 2022, will be dissolved by mutual consent. In concrete terms, this means that this merger plan has also failed and the two carriers will continue to go their separate ways.

Rumors recently surfaced that Spirit Airlines' financial situation is in trouble. The management vigorously contradicted this and made it clear that they were also able to continue flying standalone. It remains to be seen whether Spirit Airlines will now look for a merger partner for the third time. At least for the time being you can fly on alone. In media statements, both companies regret that the merger failed due to regulatory requirements.