Frontier’s still dreaming of a budget airline buyout. Spirit, not so much.
Three years later, Frontier Airlines is back and trying to buy Spirit.
On Wednesday, Frontier said it made another offer to snag its budget rival — this time for $2.1 billion, or about $800 million less than its takeover attempt in 2022. Spirit said it has rejected the bid (not enough $$) but that it’s willing to talk. (Being willing to talk is a pretty standard line for publicly traded companies because they have a duty to their shareholders.)
Back in 2022, the two airlines planned to merge before JetBlue proposed a stronger offer. Spirit bailed on Frontier, but the JetBlue deal ended up being blocked after opposition from the Biden administration’s DOJ. Spirit and JetBlue called off their $3.8 billion merger early last year, and Spirit filed for bankruptcy in November.
Should the two sides ultimately find some common merger ground (and receive the OK from Trump’s antitrust agencies), a Frontier-Spirit combo carrier would be America’s fifth-largest airline.
Back in 2022, the two airlines planned to merge before JetBlue proposed a stronger offer. Spirit bailed on Frontier, but the JetBlue deal ended up being blocked after opposition from the Biden administration’s DOJ. Spirit and JetBlue called off their $3.8 billion merger early last year, and Spirit filed for bankruptcy in November.
Should the two sides ultimately find some common merger ground (and receive the OK from Trump’s antitrust agencies), a Frontier-Spirit combo carrier would be America’s fifth-largest airline.
