Frontier pursues merger with bankrupt airline competitor Spirit

Christie and Gardner expressed willingness to consider a revised proposal that addresses their concerns: "Should you wish to make a revised proposal that is in fact capable of closing, and addresses the material deficiencies catalogued here and in our many communications, we would be happy to consider it and again work to activate our stakeholders to do so as well."

Spirit aims to exit bankruptcy this quarter and has postponed its next court hearing to evaluate Frontier's proposal. This marks Frontier's second attempt at merging with Spirit after their first effort in 2022 was thwarted when Spirit accepted a counteroffer from JetBlue.

JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit was blocked last year following an antitrust trial. JetBlue had argued that merging with Spirit was essential for competing against major U.S. airlines like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.

The regulatory environment under different administrations has also played a role in these mergers' viability. Both Frontier and Spirit have faced financial challenges amidst an industry dominated by top network airlines achieving high profits.

Spirit is reorganizing due to Chapter 11 proceedings—a scenario anticipated during the JetBlue antitrust trial but downplayed by executives once the merger was blocked. A merger could now be part of efforts to stabilize Spirit financially.

Discussions between Frontier and Spirit resumed last summer following JetBlue's failed takeover attempt but were paused before reigniting last fall prior to Spirit’s bankruptcy filing.

JetBlue did not respond immediately for comment regarding this development.