Insight – JetBlue beats off Frontier, wins Spirit

Was this really a “win”? After all, as an advisor to Frontier told us, “Either way, we win. We’re not going to chase JetBlue.” JetBlue beats off Frontier and wins Spirit.  What are the implications?

Airlines merge because of one key metric – economies of scale.  They must drive costs down as the lowest seat cost provider wins, every time.  Let’s start this with a look at costs.