Frontier Makes Second Pass at Spirit Airlines

Joe Cortez January 29, 2025

With Spirit Airlines in bankruptcy, fellow ultra-low-cost-carrier Frontier Airlines says they have made another bid towards a merger.

After a botched merger attempt with JetBlue, could consolidation come for Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines after all?

Frontier Airlines says they have made a new offer to merge with the airline through “newly issued Frontier debt and common stock.”

Frontier Says Proposal is “Compelling Opportunity That Will Result in More Value”

Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines first attempted to merge in February 2022 under a deal valued at $6 billion. JetBlue began a subsequent campaign to merge with Spirit, which was ultimately accepted by the board of the yellow-airplane carrier over Frontier’s offering. However, the proposed deal was denied by a federal judge nearly two years later, saying “consumers that rely on Spirit’s unique, low-price model would likely be harmed.”

While Frontier’s latest proposal does not have a dollar figure attached to it yet, the carrier says that this provides an excellent opportunity for the two carriers to benefit “from the very significant synergies Frontier expects to achieve by combining the airlines’ operations.” Leaders for the Denver-based airline say they have begun conversations with Spirit’s board and leadership team.

In a presentation to Spirit, Frontier said their combined airline would offer more available seat miles than ultra-low-cost competitor Allegiant Air, JetBlue, and even the combination of Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Moreover, Frontier’s leaders say the merger would create more value to Spirit’s shareholders than if the carrier attempted to recover from bankruptcy alone.

“While we are pleased with the strong results Frontier has been able to deliver through the execution of our business strategy, we have long believed a combination with Spirit would allow us to unlock additional value creation opportunities,” said Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier. “As a combined airline, we would be positioned to offer more options and deeper savings, as well as an enhanced travel experience with more reliable service.”

In the latest letter sent by Spirit Airlines, chief executive Ted Christie and board chairman Mac Gardner called the current proposal “inadequate and unactionable,” but welcomed the opportunity to review a new bid.

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