Spirit Airlines shareholders on Wednesday voted to accept a $3.8 billion buyout offer that would see JetBlue Airways absorb the company.
- The approval comes after JetBlue outbid rival Frontier Airlines for Spirit, which is the largest budget airline in the U.S. "This is an important step forward on our path to closing a combination that will create the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers," says Spirit CEO Ted Christie. Echoing Christie's comments, JetBlue officials have issued a statement in which they call the vote "a major milestone in our plan to join with Spirit to create a high-quality, low-fare national challenger to the Big Four airlines."
- However, the merger isn't a done deal just yet. The deal must first be approved by federal regulators, who have been fighting to quash a recent alliance formed between JetBlue and American Airlines.