Frontier/Spirit would have happened if JetBlue did not interfere. The justice department was right to shoot down the JetBlue/Spirit merger because JetBlue was just looking to shut down an ULCC competitor while pilfering their assets.

I think Frontier/Spirit will be the next merger. It will create a stronger ULCC airline and be more able to compete with larger airlines.

Alaska and JetBlue make sense from a combined airline perspective, however these companies are led my management teams that want to be the acquirer. Both Alaska and JetBlue bid for Virgin America. Alaska bought Hawaiian. JetBlue bid for Spirit. I just don’t see how Alaska and JetBlue management teams could agree to a merger. Maybe I’ll be wrong on this. Either way, I don’t see it happening until Alaska/Hawaiian is a little more settled.