A Spirit Airlines plane on the tarmac of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on February 7, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines on Wednesday delayed shareholder voting on its proposed merger with Frontier Airlines until July 8, hours before a meeting scheduled for Thursday so it could further discuss options with Frontier and rival JetBlue Airways.
This is the second time Spirit has delayed a vote on its planned combination with Frontier and prolongs the most controversial battle for an American airline in years.
Spirit originally scheduled Thursday’s vote for June 10, but had delayed it for the same reasons.
Both Frontier and JetBlue have increased their bids the week before the scheduled vote approaches.
Frontier and Spirit first announced their intention to merge in February. In April, JetBlue made a surprise offer for Spirit, but the Spirit board has repeatedly rejected JetBlue’s offers, arguing that the acquisition of JetBlue would not happen with regulators.
Both combinations will create the fifth largest carrier in the United States.
JetBlue has rejected Spirit saying it did not negotiate in good faith, sparking a war of words between airlines as they competed for shareholder support before the vote.
Frontier and JetBlue did not immediately comment on the postponed vote.
Shares of spirits rose about 2% in out-of-hours operations, while Frontier rose more than 1% and JetBlue fell 1%.