Spirit CEO says he wonders whether JetBlue’s bid was meant to block Frontier deal

Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie on Thursday laid bare the reasons his company rejected JetBlue Airways’ $3.6b offer to buy the ultra-low-cost carrier, and went so far as to suggest that the bid may have been intended to stop Spirit’s planned merger with Frontier Airlines. “JetBlue shareholders aren’t supportive of this deal, either, based on the company’s stock performance. However, despite clear concern from JetBlue shareholders, JetBlue has continued to pursue disruption to the Spirit-Frontier combination,” Christie said during Spirit’s Q1 earnings call. “I have wondered whether blocking our deal with Frontier is in fact their goal,” Christie added. JetBlue declined to comment on Christie’s claims. In February, Spirit and Frontier announced plans to merge in what would create a massive discount airline, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. JetBlue’s unsolicited bid for Spirit initially threw that tie-up into question. But on Monday, Spirit rejected JetBlue’s offer in favor of the Frontier deal, citing concerns that a JetBlue buyout wouldn’t clear regulatory hurdles. JetBlue has a partnership with American Airlines in what’s known as the Northeast Alliance to better compete against the likes of United Airlines and Delta Air Lines at major airports. JetBlue contends that acquiring Spirit would help it further compete. Christie on Thursday emphasized that the Department of Justice is already suing to block the JetBlue-American partnership, while highlighting that “half the expected synergies” of JetBlue absorbing Spirit “would come from reduced capacity and increased fares to consumers.”<br/>