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Spirit Airlines got a lifeline this week with an infusion of cash that will allow flights, ticket sales, and day-to-day operations to continue uninterrupted. But in the press release that touted this funding, Spirit noted that there was that “further progress on a standalone plan of reorganization or a strategic transaction.” The latter part of that means a sale of some or all of the low-cost carrier. It now seems like Frontier Airlines is back in conversation with Spirit over the possible combination of the airlines.
Bloomberg first reported that the two airlines have restarted talks about a merger or acquisition. The news outlet said that a deal could be announced as early as this month. Due to the confidentiality of the agreement, neither carrier has commented on a potential transaction.
Frontier Airlines remains the most likely merger partner, though the two carriers have repeatedly failed to reach a deal. Their first attempt in 2022 collapsed after JetBlue submitted a competing bid for Spirit (an offer later blocked by the Department of Justice). This forced Spirit to remain independent. Frontier returned in 2024 with a new proposal valuing Spirit at $580 million, but ultimately walked away after months of negotiation. This led Spirit into a pair of bankruptcies. Earlier this year, Frontier made a third unsolicited offer worth just $400 million and a smaller equity share, which Spirit rejected as undervaluing the company. Frontier again ended discussions, leaving Spirit to restructure on its own while exploring future options.
Anthony’s Take: It’s too early to tell if this will happen and what shape a combined airline will take. The current administration seems like it would be much more open to a tie-up than the last. I’m marking this as developing and will report back as more is known.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
