Frontier, Spirit Airlines Renew Merger Talks, WSJ Reports

By Peter Vercoe

October 22, 2024 at 9:04PM EDT

Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines signage at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter at Indianapolis International Airport in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. Frontier Group Holdings Inc. agreed to buy Spirit Airlines Inc. for $2.9 billion in cash and stock, uniting two ultra-low-cost carriers targeting the recovering U.S. leisure-travel market. Spirit shares rose the most in 14 months. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Frontier Airlines is exploring a revived bid for Spirit Airlines Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported.

The budget carriers recently held talks, though discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, the WSJ said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

If an agreement is reached, it would likely happen as part of Spirit restructuring its debt and other liabilities in bankruptcy, according to the report.

On Monday, Spirit’s shares surged 53% after the carrier secured more time to address a debt load that has raised the prospect of bankruptcy.

The mooted revival of talks come after Frontier’s 2022 deal to buy Spirit fell apart in the face of a competing offer from JetBlue Airways Corp. The Jetblue-Spirit deal was then blocked on antitrust grounds in January.

Spirit has since struggled because an engine part defect grounded some of its planes and fares during the critical summer travel period were restrained by an oversupply of capacity across the industry.