Spirit Airlines shareholders are set to vote tomorrow on whether or not to approve a proposed merger with ultra-low-cost competitor Frontier. Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CEO, sat down with USA TODAY on Wednesday to talk about the merger’s prospects and the issues plaguing the aviation industry this summer.
The deal is facing headwinds from a competing offer from JetBlue, and it’s unclear which will win investors’ favor. For now, shareholders are only voting on the Frontier proposal.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity and condensed.
How are you feeling going into the Spirit merger vote tomorrow?
Biffle: We feel really good. I mean, we’ve had really good momentum.
JetBlue started positioning after this plan was announced. What has that meant for the deal?
Biffle: These are completely different deals and have completely different odds of success from an antitrust perspective.
On one hand, you’ve got the Frontier-Spirit merger that lowers fares for consumers and gives more low fares to more people in more places. And on the other hand, the JetBlue alternative will actually raise prices for consumers. That’s why this is a nonstarter if you will, from a Department of Justice perspective.
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What does it mean for customers if your deal goes through?
Biffle:…
