Frontier Airlines Proposes Merger With Spirit for the Second Time, but Spirit Calls It ‘Unactionable’

In what might seem like a business case of deja vu, Frontier Airlines is now proposing a merger with struggling competitor Spirit Airlines for the second time, according to CNBC.

Following an earlier merger proposal that fell through in 2022, Frontier is now making an offer to merge with Spirit — which is currently in bankruptcy — in an agreement that it says is superior to Spirit’s own post-bankruptcy plans. Frontier Chairman Bill Franke and company CEO Barry Biffle penned an email directed at Spirit Chairman Mac Gardner and CEO Ted Christie outlining their concerns about Spirit’s immediate future.

“We continue to believe that under the current standalone plan, Spirit will emerge highly levered, losing money at the operating level, and this would not be a transaction we would pursue,” Franke and Biffle wrote. “As a result, time is of the essence.”

Frontier’s Second Merger Proposal With Spirit Follows the Latter’s Job Cuts, Blocked Deal With JetBlue

As CNN reported, Spirit has had a rather turbulent journey over the past few years.

The original 2022 merger with Frontier was partially scrapped due to a competing bid from JetBlue Airways, an offer that was eventually blocked by a federal judge in 2023, leaving Spirit somewhat rudderless.

More recently, Spirit slashed 200 jobs, citing optimization separate from its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

“We are executing on plans to rightsize our organization to align with our current fleet size and level of flying and ultimately optimize our airline,” a Spirit Airlines spokesperson told CNN. “After reviewing our organizational structure, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 200 positions from various departments across the airline.”

Frontier Airlines proposes merging with fellow budget carrier Spirit — again https://t.co/kwAwuu76Eg

— CNBC (@CNBC) January 29, 2025

Spirit Airlines Rejects Frontier’s Proposal, Calling it ‘Unactionable’

The second pitch doesn’t seem to have landed, at least according to Spirit executives. In a response shared in a Jan. 29 securities filing, Christie and Gardner referred to the offer as “inadequate and unactionable,” rejecting Frontier’s proposal. According to CNN, Spirit told Frontier that the offer was “far short” of shareholders’ expectations and is “less money than the previous offer.”

Spirit has suggested that it expects to exit bankruptcy sometime this quarter and appears poised to go it alone. Both airlines have been pushing upgrades over the course of the past few months in a bid to capture customers from competitors — Spirit having announced “Go Big” bundles, which include free snacks, drinks, and baggage allotments, and Frontier promoting an increase in first class-style seating for passengers.