Frontier CEO Sees ‘Green Light’ for Airline Deals Under Trump

Frontier Group Holdings Inc.’s CEO said he expects President Donald Trump’s antitrust enforcers to embrace airline deals after multiple tie-ups were blocked during the Biden administration. 

“If you want to do M&A, you’ve got a green light,” Frontier Chief Executive Officer Barry Biffle said at a Barclays conference Wednesday. “You should do it now, and I think the industry is ready for it.”

Biffle said the industry is “ripe” for deals as carriers adopt a more disciplined approach to managing their flying capacity to boost profit margins. A fresh wave of consolidation would mark a major shift for the already highly concentrated industry after a series of recent proposed tie-ups were blocked under President Joe Biden. 

Antitrust officials broke up a partnership between American Airlines Group Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp., and moved to block a merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines Inc. that ultimately was abandoned. Spirit subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and Frontier has made multiple offers that the rival discount airline has rebuffed. 

“I think everybody other than maybe Delta and United could buy JetBlue,” Biffle said, referring to Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. “I think Southwest could get away with it. American can get away with it.”

He said Frontier itself is open to a deal, even after it made multiple offers to buy Spirit before and during the latter carrier’s bankruptcy reorganization that were rejected.

“We felt like we made a fair offer. We thought it’d be a good combination,” Biffle said. “In the end, we wish them luck.”

With assistance from Mary Schlangenstein.

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