A recent legal ruling stopped the buyout of Spirit Airlines by JetBlue Airways.

Airlines are a hot topic!

While the judge has prevented the merger of Spirit and JetBlue for the time being, the future of low-cost fares for passengers and the fate of small airports that rely heavily on the budget airline could be in trouble if the ruling gets overturned.

Recently, Spirit Airlines announced they were looking to merge with JetBlue Airways in a cool $3.8 billion deal. However, according to an article by CNBC, a judge has recently blocked this purchase of the airline from continuing further. The judge stated, “The elimination of Spirit would harm cost-conscious travelers who rely on Spirit’s low fares.” 

However, the two airlines disagreed with the ruling, stating, “We continue to believe that our combination is the best opportunity to increase much-needed competition and choice by bringing low fares and great service to more customers in more markets while enhancing our ability to compete with the dominant U.S. carriers.” 

©Spirit Airlines

Now, the two companies are looking at the option to appeal the judge’s decision, according to a separate article by CNBC. But could an appeal and overturning of the judge’s decision have big impacts on passengers and small airports, as he predicted?

Spirit Airlines at Orlando Airport

Smaller airports that rely heavily on passengers choosing to fly with Spirit Airlines have already had to cut down multiple routes to just one for select destinations. These types of airports are mostly supported by travelers who are attracted to fly out through them from neighboring states.

Spirit Airlines

Gabe Monzo, the executive director of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE), expressed concern for his airport’s ability to stay in business, saying, “Being that they (Spirit Airlines) are the only one, they are really important; it would be devastating if they would go belly up.” He believes this shake-up could really affect their share of the airline business (and in turn the financial stability) of the LBE airport to continue offering service. Spirit Airlines is the only commercial carrier to provide service to LBE airport, and the employees who currently work in all of the scaled-down conveniences are now left uncertain about what their future could look like if Spirit Airlines were to discontinue offering flights through them.

Spirit Airlines plane

This is just one example of who could feel the rippling effects if the judge’s decision is overturned. There are thousands of leisure travelers, college students, missionaries, and others who choose to fly with Spirit Airlines due to their pricing and straightforward airfare.

Professor Jase Ramsey, who is a Florida Gulf Coast University management professor in Fort Myers, uses Spirit Airlines for both his personal and professional courses of study. He believes that if Spirit Airlines ceased to exist in Florida, its absence from the market would likely raise prices for incoming tourists and cut off affordable vacation options for local families heading to the Caribbean.“This will be bad for our region if something happens to Spirit from a price perspective. They are usually our low-cost leader. If you want to do a family vacation out of here, that is your go-to airline,” continued Ramsey.

©Spirit Airlines

He went on to outline how cutting off such an integral part of tourism to South Florida would be like cutting off its lifeline. “This isn’t good for us. South Florida really depends on them. It is a healthy market with two low-cost providers that compete with one another,” said Ramsey, speaking of Spirit Airlines’s next competitor in line for the region, Southwest Airlines. In addition to keeping airfare low in cost, these smaller airlines are more willing to fly travelers to offbeat destinations that other major airlines just simply aren’t willing to travel to.

However, Paul Vaaler, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and Carlson School of Management, admits the margins between airlines competing for your travel business can be so small at times that it makes it difficult for Spirit to compete.

Orlando Airport TSA Lines

Vaaler is hopeful that the judge’s decision could be overturned with an appeal. He also believes the merger could make smart business sense which might not have been so apparent at first glance. He stated, “What I think the judge missed is that there is an offsetting beneficial effect of a merger; a large JetBlue could put more pressure on the legacy airlines.” This could ring even more true in mixed markets that tend to attract both leisure and business travelers, like in Orlando.

Another thing working against Spirit Airlines is their double-edged sword of low pricing. While they’re arguably the best “deal” flying with low fares, their pricing isn’t too far off from other popular forms of transportation offered, like buses and trains.

Brightline train

Vaaler went on to give this food for thought, “There is a role for those players, and it is really important to provide those choices; they go to places that the legacies airlines don’t,” and he sees the value that Spirit Airlines brings to the travel industry with this point.

We’re always looking for updates that could affect how you travel to Disney World! Be sure to stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for the latest.

NEW Airplane Seat Could Make Flying Easier for Wheelchair Users

What kinds of factors are important to you when you’re choosing which airline company to use? Tell us everything that leads to your decision in the comments below!