Pre consolidation airlines were not any more stable than Sprint. Even now, JetBlue is about to get merged with Spirit.
IIRC the deal is more about the fact that they share a common aircraft type, and Airbus’ order backlog is measured in years.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/JBLU/jetblue-airwa...
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/SAVE/spirit-airlin...
I am not an expert in airlines, and I am sure there are COVID effects, but it seems like the other domestic airlines have bounced back quicker since they are showing profits.
But more importantly, I remember Jetblue wanting to provide a better than average flying experience when the airline started, so I presume the only reason they would want to merge with Spirit, a company who does the exact opposite, is because they are facing financial headwinds.
Jetblue and Spirit both have a strategy of lowering costs by only running one aircraft type, the Airbus A320 family, which means that their pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, only need training on one type of aircraft and can be flexibly deployed, they only maintain one set of spare parts, etc.
The Airbus order backlog is several years long. If you need planes earlier than that, your only recourse is to buy someone else's planes.
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FWIW, Q2 2023, JBLU reported highest quarterly net profit: https://simpleflying.com/jetblue-record-quarterly-revenues-q...
At this point it is the bread and butter of a low cost carrier. JBLU originally started as one. Legacy carriers are more likely to get different types of planes for different missions, and pit the duopolists against each other to secure better pricing.
Still, the two aircraft fleet is a lot smaller than what you would see on a legacy carrier.
Spirit isn't a perfect match (different market segments), but otherwise they use the same model of aircraft and have some operational efficiencies. I'd hazard a guess Spirit's branding and low cost model will be tossed out in favor of JetBlue's operating model, and that segment of the market will be left to Frontier.
Per my ten flights this year with them (out of BWI, Miami, Vegas & Reno) it's a Pay less and get out the airport quickest experience. Their planes i flown on are new planes with seats that are a bit less comfortable. Their refund policy is awful ..just don't cancel.
Theres tons of negative press about them and I bet a lot of it is stirred up by fake news marketing via their competitors. TikTok has lots of influencers / social media professionals trashing them with their fake news marketing videos (like a few such tikTok(ers) have millions of followers).
If JetBlue buys them no more cheap good flights and that cuts out a lot people who can afford to fly with them now and that's crap..flying/traveling should be affordable for many not just middle to upper class!
What are some examples of this "fake news marketing" that you're claiming?
Otherwise, I've had okay experiences with Spirit prior to this year but I won't be flying with them again since it is shorter to drive than suffer their constant delays.