Wow! 
Could this be challenged by the Justice Department, though?
Ben,
I’m not an expert in airline mergers, but I suppose it could? I’m not a betting man, but I think the DOJ would approve the merger.
Interestingly, this merger was predicted when T-Mobile and Sprint announced their merger in 2019. It was said that if the DOJ approved the T-Mobile/Sprint merger that it could pave the way for airlines to follow suit, and here we are.
Still, in comparison, becoming the 5th largest airline in the US, while not nothing, the top 4 are giants compared to Frontier, Spirit, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, etc.
Tory
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Ben,
They’re simply merging 2 very similar products. I don’t see the feds having a problem.
Adam
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How does seniority work when merging? Assume there’ll be several disgruntled pilots who may have been extremely senior at spirirt now find themselves middle of the road at frontier?
Josh,
Fortunately both pilot groups are in the same union (ALPA) which makes it easier (but seldom perfect). They’ll most likely go with date of hire (with some tweeking). Inevitably there will be some unhappy pilots but for the most part it’s usually pretty fair and often better for all due to the availability of more bases and size means more stability.
Adam
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I am no Justice Department lawyer, but I do not see this being challenged by anybody. The two airlines have different route maps and this will likely not have a huge affect on competition.
Merging the seniority lists will be interesting, but as Adam said, date of hire will most likely be the basis for it.
Chris
I wonder if this will affect ATP’s Frontier Direct program
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I hope not. 
Ben
Not sure if it was related to the merger, but yesterday midday nearly the entire fleet was on the ground at the same time with 20% flights cancelled and another 30% delayed due to a technology problem….
-Hannah
I do not see this having any affect on ATP’s Frontier Direct Program. The need for pilots will continue, merger or not.
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Saw this on ATP’s instagram this morning. I have a feeling the program is here to stay. Login • Instagram
I would agree with that.
What are the chances Frontier/Spirit will open a pilot base in California?
Spencer,
No idea, I can’t even predict the bases at my own airline 
Chris
Is say 50/50. Either they will or they won’t
Adam
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Anyone here fly for Spirit or Frontier?
Upper level management has a ton to iron out… like Chris said in another thread, it will take years for the merger to really be finalized on an operational level. We shall see!
-Hannah
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I start at Spirit next month. Have about a dozen friends there as well (in training-captain). The merger doesn’t seem to be bothering many people.
Others already mentioned they have the same Union so that’s a huge plus.
Some would prefer Spirit be majority in merger but it’s pretty even at 51.5/48.5.
Shouldn’t be a huge issue for flight crew. Management / Admin is where cuts would happen. This will take a few years and very little to know until the sausage is actually getting made.
Even with the merger, growth is expected so exciting times ahead.
Chris F
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Chris,
Congratulations on making the move to Spirit! It sounds like you will have some real growth opportunities there with this merger. Enjoy and let us know how it goes!
Chris
Congrats Chris!
That’s an awesome move. We’ll miss ya at Skybest but can’t wait to hear how things go over there!
-Hannah