Spirit Airlines

Does JetBlue's surprise bid for Spirit make sense for the carrier's network? At first glance, Wall Street didn't think so.

In Skift's top stories this week, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines unveil plans to merge in a massive deal, Philippines Airlines makes a tumultuous leadership change, and European officials implement new metrics for measuring tourism success.

Good morning from Skift. It's Tuesday, February 8, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today.

When Allegiant President John Redmond adds the CEO title in June, he'll have to deal with some of the same issues, such as the pandemic, that he's trying to handle now. Add one more thing to the list: Frontier could become a more formidable flight competitor if it gets the OK to merge with Spirit.

The rumors have come true with Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines unveiling plans to merge Monday. The deal would create a U.S. budget juggernaut and the country's fifth largest airline but likely faces a tough approvals process from the pro-competition Biden administration.

Sometimes there is too much of a good thing like at Spirit Airlines, where a too-rapid summer recovery ended in operational disaster. The discounter has scaled back its plans with a focus on hiring and improved reliability with its eye now on 2023 to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

Airport access awards don't usually make the news, but the Biden administration is making a usually obscure federal process part of its larger competition agenda. The upshot is that Spirit Airlines could stand to benefit from more rights at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Google's attractions ticket beta has been among its least elegant in travel to date. This has angered many tour operators because it couldn't have come at a more inopportune time.

In an industry record, four budget airlines generated more revenue from ancillaries than they did from ticket sales in 2020. More importantly, ancillary revenue grew across all of the largest airlines last year despite the crisis.

A significant ancillary play from the Canadian online travel agency, but not quite the leap forward for so-called new distribution capability in the U.S. many would want to see, given Spirit's reach and target flyers.