Ultra-low-cost rivals Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are understood to have re-entered merger talks, though an initial agreement was dashed by JetBlue back in 2022.
According to the Wall Street Journal, speaking with people familiar with the developments, Frontier Airlines is mulling over a new bid for Spirit Airlines.
In an article published on October 22, 2024, the Wall Street Journal said that Spirit and Frontier had held early talks over a merger, but an agreement was far from certain.
In October 2024, Spirit entered initial discussions with its bondholders regarding the terms of a potential future bankruptcy filing and it is thought that any merger with Frontier would form part of finding a resolution.
On October 21, 2024, Spirit refinanced around $1.1 billion in debt and moved its credit card processor’s deadline to December 23, 2024.
According to Quartz, Spirit also borrowed the entire $300 million revolving credit facility it had established in March 2022.
In the face of financial struggles, Spirit has been forced to restructure its operations, aircraft fleet and network.
Frontier and Spirit initially entered a merger agreement in May 2022, but by June 2022 the deal was dead.
JetBlue proposed a more attractive cash offer to Spirit Airlines’ shareholders and in July 2022 they approved the merger.
However, on March 4, 2024, JetBlue and Spirit confirmed that the two airlines had agreed to terminate their July 2022 merger agreement.