Frontier Airlines: Taking Over Spirit's Turf

Frontier Airlines is making a bold strategic move.

They are setting their sights on Spirit Airlines' customers, who have been struggling financially. Spirit recently warned that they might not last another year without additional funding. This has created an opportunity for Frontier.

Expansion Plans

Frontier has announced plans to launch 20 new routes this winter. Many of these routes overlap with Spirit's operations, including flights from Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

• New Routes from Fort Lauderdale:
• Detroit
• Houston
• Chicago

• Charlotte

• Expansion from Houston:
• New Orleans
• San Pedro Sula, Honduras
• Guatemala City

This expansion will put Frontier in direct competition with Spirit on 35% of its capacity, the highest overlap with any other airline, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg.

Past Mergers and Future Strategies

Frontier has attempted to merge with Spirit in the past, but those efforts failed. When asked about a potential buyout, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle stated he was not interested in discussing mergers. Instead, he believes Frontier will naturally take over a significant portion of Spirit's market share if Spirit collapses.

A Strategic Play

This move by Frontier is strategic. They are positioning themselves to benefit from Spirit's financial troubles. It's a classic case of one company capitalizing on another's weakness. In the tough airline industry, only the strong survive.