Originally Posted by
LongHornFlyer
I keep hearing that United and American plan to grow their fleets by hundreds of aircraft over next however many years. If an airline could somehow acquire 200 planes right now, how much would that cost and how much does it cost them in lost revenue (credit cards) not having those planes? I gotta believe it would be cheaper to buy Spirit even along with its debt. It comes down to what it is worth to the buyer, not necessarily just asset value minus debt.
Full disclosure…I’m an idiot
I think the problem is that those companies only want new planes like the NEO or Max. There’s just no interest in older, less efficient aircraft. There’s also the significant time and expense to convert those planes to match the legacy configuration. My guess is that the legacy management teams are quietly hoping that with the elimination of a low cost competitor they can raise ticket prices and further increase their revenue. They’re just sitting in the trees like a couple of vultures waiting to gain from another’s loss.