It was inevitable – LCC/ULCC consolidation is required to enable them to compete more effectively with the big 3 domestic carriers who together control more than 75% of domestic seat capacity. If you include strategic alliances (The NE alliance, AA/AS on Westcoast) and the fact that major airlines tend to dominate their respective hubs, the consolidation picture is even more interesting. We examined the Network and Fleet of both Spirit (NK) and Frontier (F9):
- F9 and NK have strong presence in the south-east with MCO/FLL figuring among top destination by seat capacity
- Both airlines have a relatively young fleet of airbus aircraft with strong order book of new technology A320 family neo aircraft. Orders likely have conversion rights and with a stronger network presence, the merged airline may be motivated to up-gauge and convert new orders to mostly A321neo
- F9 is a Pratt engine operator while NK is a CFMi engine operator. For the merged airline, managing two different engine types will create some complexity and limit scheduling/maintenance efficiencies, something that can be managed.
