Though Virgin was a relatively small airline, Alaska probably won't be making any other acquisitions in the near future. I think Southwest and AirTran had a much closer business model than Alaska or JetBlue, but AirTran quickly became Southwest. Frontier could still raise its bid, or change its composition. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said last November the airline industry will lose $157 billion in 2020 and 2021. Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 12: Singer Jasmine V tries out the new JetBlue Mint luxury seating at the [+] JetBlue Mint Pop-Up Experience at The Grove on June 12, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Great if Alaska purchased Jet blue w/bonus of gaining more routes East Coast. It tried to buy Virgin America, but lost that deal to Alaska Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines flies a mixed fleet including 717s, two different types of widebodies, and also contracts out for regional flights on ATR turboprops. The buzz followed a report by Stifel analyst Joseph DeNardi diving into the feasibility of a Southwest-JetBlue tie-up. DeNardi, however, is not the first to pose such a question. The real reason why Southwest CEO Gary Kelly is so eager to reach new labor contracts probably has. Improve earnings, maximize rewards and track progress toward dream trips. Why a merger doesn't make senseHistorically, one of Southwest's main tools for keeping costs down has been operating a single fleet type: the Boeing 737. In a recent update, he called JBLU a buy, claiming As Boeing's Stock Goes Down, JetBlue's Should Be Going Up. He put a target price on JBLU stock, currently around $19.15 a share, at $26. Frontier-Spirit Merger to Create a U.S. Budget Airline Giant If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. WASHINGTON, February 2, 2022 Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, led a coalition of travel-industry groups urging 2023 Airlines for America (A4A). Frontier could also offer to pay any costs associated with the risk that regulators would challenge the merger in court. Though it might make more sense for it to merge with a legacy carrier (and become its low-cost wing) than for two legacies to merge with each other, approval for a Southwest merger would be very difficult, if not impossible, because of the low-cost carrier's size. Southwest will not be merging with Alaska Airlines There is really no real benefit for Southwest to do so. WN is interested in larger airplanes now, so the A220 isnt a priority where the 320/321 would rank high. Some critics of corporate consolidation disagree and say that airline mergers could be bad for consumers and workers. At the start of 2019, Southwest expected deliveries of 44 737 MAX for a net increase of about 25 aircraft after planned retirements. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. (214) 792-4000 The table below is an unofficial compilation of completed (not merely proposed) mergers and acquisitions since the inception of the U.S. airline industry. Concerns over new strains of the coronavirus have amplified the concerns on travel demand. And while Spirit and JetBlue have some overlap, for example in similar fleets of planes, they operate differently. A position that many have rumors and many would not have thought possible.