Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie didn't hold back on a recent earnings call with analysts about his take on the current state of the airline industry after a stalled $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways earlier this year .
In one Q1 2024 earnings call on Monday, Christie called out the US Justice Department for blocking the merger, calling the decision “ill-informed” and a “waste of taxpayer funds” that caused “significant harm to two proud companies” in the process.
“Today, almost all of the profits of the entire US airline industry are concentrated in just two companies, while smaller non-legacy companies have tried to restore profitability in what increasingly looks like a rigged game,” Christie said bluntly. “American consumers are the long-term losers.”
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He noted that while JetBlue was not the company's “first choice” for a merger, the decision would still have been “very positive for consumers and our other constituents.”
In January, a federal judge blocked a proposed merger between the two airlines, ruling that the newly formed conglomerate would harm competition and lead to higher airfares for consumers, which would upset both airlines. .
Christie also called out the “Big Four” US airlines (American, Southwest, Delta and United) as “beneficiaries” of the industry – the four companies account for almost 75% of all domestic airline seats every year.
Spirit had a less than stellar Q1 2024reporting an adjusted net loss of $160 million and approximately $1.3 billion in revenue, a 6.2% year-over-year decline.
“We were adversely affected by adverse weather and delays related to air traffic control, particularly along the East Coast and in Florida,” Christie. analysts said.
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The domestic flight environment has improved “at a slower pace than we originally anticipated,” the company added, and stated that it has no plans to add new routes in the near future.
Spirit Airlines was down up 79% year over year as of Wednesday morning.