Frontier Airlines parent Frontier Group Holdings Inc. issued a statement Tuesday to “set the record straight” about JetBlue Airways Corp.’s comments regarding antitrust concerns that would be raised if it acquired Spirit Airlines Inc. The statement comes after JetBlue increased its bid to buy Spirit late Monday, as the air carrier tried to break up the merger deal between Frontier and Spirit, which was also sweetened late Friday. Frontier noted that JetBlue has said recently that Spirit was “hiding behind ‘false’ and ‘misleading’ antitrust concerns to deny JetBlue’s buyout attempt. “JetBlue is not telling you the truth,” Frontier stated. “A Spirit acquisition by JetBlue would lead to a dead end-a fact that no amount of money, bluster, or misdirection will change.” Frontier noted that JetBlue “admitted” it would remove capacity if it bought Spirit by removing seats, which would lead to price increases. “These facts-admitted higher prices and lower output-guarantee that JetBlue could never secure clearance for its proposed acquisition of Spirit,” Frontier said. Spirit’s stock rallied 3.8% and Frontier shares gained 2.0% in premarket trading Tuesday, while JetBlue’s stock slipped 0.1%.
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