Frontier Again Bids to Merge with Spirit Airlines

For the second time in three years, Frontier Airlines is bidding to merge with its ultra-low-cost competitor, Spirit Airlines.

Frontier on Wednesday confirmed it was making another attempt to merge with Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year after its failed acquisition by JetBlue.

The bid amount was not disclosed. JetBlue’s successful bid—before it was struck down by the U.S. Department of Justice over antitrust concerns—was for $3.8 billion. Frontier said its latest offer would be financed through newly issued Frontier debt and common stock.

Bill Franke, chair of Frontier’s board of directors, said the deal would not only secure Spirit’s future as an airline but also create “a stronger low-fare airline with the long-term viability to compete more effectively and enter new markets at scale.”

“We stand ready to continue discussions with Spirit and its financial stakeholders and believe that we can promptly reach an agreement on a transaction. We are hopeful we can achieve a resolution that delivers significant value for consumers, team members, communities, partners, creditors and shareholders,” he said.

Spirit and Frontier’s Recent History

As Spirit struggled coming out of the pandemic, the Frontier deal offered an opportunity to partner with another ultra-low-cost carrier as a lifeline. While the deal was initially brokered and agreed upon, it ultimately fell through when Spirit failed to secure shareholder approval. JetBlue then swooped in shortly after.

JetBlue’s agreement to buy Spirit was in the works for nearly two years before being officially scrapped in March 2024.

At the time, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said the airline was still proud of the work it did to try to close the deal, but the regulatory hurdles proved too difficult to overcome.

“We believed this merger was worth pursuing because it would have unleashed a national low-fare, high-value competitor to the Big Four airlines,” Geraghty said. “We are proud of the work we did with Spirit to lay out a vision to challenge the status quo, but given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines’ interests are better served by moving forward independently.”

Those regulatory hurdles could shift as a new administration takes the reins in the U.S.