Spirit and Frontier are once again discussing a potential merger, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the talks, the financial news outlet said a deal could be announced as soon as this month. Discussions are still ongoing as of this week, Bloomberg added, and could collapse without a final agreement.
Spirit, which is about four months into its second bankruptcy, recently hinted that a sale of some kind could be in the works. The airline said Monday that part of its latest financing draw would be tied to progress on its reorganization plan, or the completion of a “strategic transaction.” It did not elaborate on what a “strategic transaction” would look like.
Spirit and Frontier, which both compete in the ultra-low-cost market, have discussed merging on at least three known occasions over the past three years.
In 2022, Frontier attempted to acquire Spirit, but Spirit’s shareholders rejected the offer. Two years later, in 2024, the carriers reportedly resumed discussions on a linkup, but no deal was reached. And in January, as Spirit prepared to emerge from its first stretch in bankruptcy, Frontier offered to buy the airline for about $2.1 billion in cash and stock, only to be rejected again.
In August, Bloomberg reported that Spirit Chairman Robert Milton had met with Frontier Chair Bill Franke near Spirit’s corporate headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida. The two reportedly discussed Spirit’s rebuilding efforts and the general state of the U.S. airline industry, and the subject of a possible merger did not come up.
‘Need Each Other’
Earlier this month, serial airline founder David Neeleman said Spirit and Frontier “need each other,” and may ultimately require a merger to remain competitive.
Speaking at Skift’s Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, Neeleman suggested that the ultra-low-cost carrier model will likely not support both airlines operating independently.
In another piece of possibly connected news, Frontier on Monday announced the sudden departure of longtime CEO Barry Biffle. Biffle was a strong advocate for Frontier’s acquisition of Spirit, but he reportedly became more cautious about the idea over the last year as Spirit struggled financially and reentered bankruptcy protection.
Biffle was replaced by Frontier President James Dempsey, who will serve as interim CEO.
