JetBlue readies integration plan for proposed Spirit takeover

JetBlue Airways has been working for months on plans to integrate Spirit Airlines’ operations should it win a takeover battle for the deep-discount carrier. “It is a very complex process,” JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes, 55, said in an interview. “Our team has already started, for a number of months, building an integration plan.” JetBlue last week raised its all-cash offer to $3.4b and added an upfront payment as a sweetener in hopes of winning the support of Spirit’s board, as well as its shareholders. Spirit remains bound by its original takeover deal with Frontier that includes stock and cash valued at $2.9b when it was made in February. Spirit investors will vote June 30. JetBlue shares fell 4.6% to $9.10 as of 9:45 a.m. in New York, while Spirit declined 4.9% and Frontier dropped 6.3%. Spirit shares had slipped 1.3% as of the market close on June 10 since JetBlue launched its competing bid in April, and its market cap sits at about $2.3 billion, below either offer. A Standard & Poor’s index of the five largest US carriers has tumbled 13.4% in the same period. Melding operations of any two airlines is a major undertaking. JetBlue and Spirit have little in common -- outside of their Airbus-dominated fleets and overlapping routes in Florida and the Caribbean. While JetBlue has offered low fares and customer-friendly options like free Wi-Fi, Spirit appeals to the most price-sensitive travelers as a so-called ultra low-cost carrier. But Hayes said JetBlue has held talks with other airline executives who have been through mergers or acquisitions to get the benefit of their experience.<br/>