With the Spirit-Frontier merger looking increasingly likely to go ahead, other airline heads have offered their insights on the deal. Dave Davis, President and CFO of Sun Country, believes that the merger can only be a good thing.

Sun Country's Dave Davis welcomes Spirit-Frontier merger

Speaking at the 15th Annual Wolfe Research Global Transportation & Industrials Conference this week, Sun Country President and CFO Dave Davis gave his opinion on the impending Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines merger.

Davis said,

"Any consolidation is good consolidation from our standpoint. I think anything that limits capacity growth in the industry is a good thing. And so we're pro consolidation whatever deal takes shape."

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Sun Country believes it won't be significantly impacted by any merger. Photo: Getty Images

According to Davis, Sun Country is in a position where it won't be heavily impacted by any merger. The Minnesota-based airline, which grew significantly in 2021, isn't competing with Spirit or Frontier on the majority of its routes.

Davis added,

"I don't think there is a direct impact on us because we don't compete that directly in most of our markets."

Simple Flying took an in-depth look at Spirit's route competition last year, revealing that 83% of Sprit's routes have head-to-head competition. The leading competitors are American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and future partner Frontier Airlines.

Will Sun Country partner up?

Given the advantages of consolidation, Sun Country's President was asked if a merger was on the horizon for the ultra-low-cost carrier.

Davis replied,

"The history of the industry is one of consolidation. Our base case isn't consolidation, but nothing's ever ruled out."

The airline will be perfectly happy winging it alone, given how the last year has panned out. After adding 27 new airports over 2021, Sun Country will further expand its network this summer with several new routes, including Vancouver, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh.

The carrier's first quarterly results for 2022 revealed a profit of $3.6 million, albeit smaller than Q1 2021's $12.4 million.

Sun Country CEO Jude Bricker said,

"We are very happy to report another profitable quarter. Very strong bookings and unit revenue trends, combined with solid cost control, drove our first-quarter net income. These results came despite much higher-than-expected fuel prices and Omicron-driven headwinds earlier in the quarter."

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Update on the Spirit-Frontier merger

Despite JetBlue making a "superior in every way" bid to acquire Spirit Airlines, a merger with Frontier Airlines appears likelier. Spirit Airlines shareholders will vote on the Frontier takeover next month, which would see Frontier become the majority stakeholder.

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Spirit  Airlines shareholders will go to a vote on June 10th. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

JetBlue responded by telling Spirit shareholders not to vote for the Frontier takeover. Until the vote takes place on June 10th, it is anyone's guess how this merger plays out.

What are your thoughts on the Spirit-Frontier merger? Let us know your insights in the comments.