A missed opportunity

When Miramar, Florida-based Spirit Airlines and Denver’s Frontier Airlines were talking merger this year, it bode well for Las Vegas.

Low-cost carrier Frontier has expanded dramatically in Las Vegas, now flying to and from 57 destinations. The blending with Spirit, also a fast grower in Las Vegas, would have provided Frontier with new planes and the ability to beef up an already robust schedule. But the merger isn’t happening.

Jetblue Airways, which offers a light Las Vegas schedule, emerged as a spoiler and appears likely to acquire Spirit for $3.8 billion.

Aviation expert Mike Boyd doesn’t understand it.

“Jetblue buying Spirit is like Tiffany buying Target. It’ll give Tiffany access to that lucrative kitchen appliance business,” said Boyd, an Evergreen, Colorado-based aviation consultant notorious for his pointed and amusing analogies. “I’m just trying to figure how they’re going to put it together because the two products are different and the people that fly each airline are very different.”

Frontier and Spirit have similar passengers, those looking for a bargain to get where they want to go. Tickets cost more on Jetblue, which has most of its routes on the East Coast.

“Frontier and Spirit are wildcatters,” Boyd said. “They go into a market just like oil people do. They drop a well, and if it works fine, they stay, but if it doesn’t, they leave. Jetblue doesn’t act that way. I thought Spirit and Frontier were a perfect match.”

And it probably would have helped Las Vegas.