Originally Posted by
NFATrustGuy
Close, but not exactly.
A group of investors called Indigo Partners bought Spirit some time ago as a "fix-and-flip" project. They "transformed" the airline to what the industry is calling an Ultra Low Cost Carrier. The whole idea of unbundling--paying extra for everything beyond the actual seat--is a key component of the ULCC concept.
In any case, profits increased significantly under the ULCC model and Indigo sold a large percentage of Spirit by way of an Initial Public Offering. As of just a little over a year ago, Indigo sold all its remaining shares in Spirit and purchased Frontier in hopes of doing the same thing.
So no, Spirit doesn't own Frontier, but they're headed down the same fix-and-flip ULCC transformation with hopes of a very profitable IPO by the same corporate raiders that previously invested in Spirit.
Time will tell if this ULCC concept is really viable as a long term business plan, but in the short term, it seems to be wildly successful from a financial standpoint. 2014 was Frontier's most profitable year in its 20+ year history. Personally, I hate the concept, but it's hard to argue with the objective financial performance numbers.
RWW
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