(Reuters) – Frontier Airlines is exploring a renewed bid for Spirit Airlines, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The two budget carriers have had recent discussions about a possible merger though the talks are at an early stage and a deal may not come to fruition, the WSJ report said.
If a deal between Spirit and Frontier is reached, it would likely happen as part of Spirit restructuring its debt and other liabilities in bankruptcy, the report added.
Spirit declined to comment on the report, while Frontier did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Spirit Airlines came close to a merger deal with Frontier Group Holdings in 2022, the parent company of Frontier Airlines, which was terminated after JetBlue Airways won the bidding war for Spirit.
However, that $3.8 billion deal was blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice in March.
The Journal had reported earlier in the month that Spirit was in talks with bondholders over the terms of a potential bankruptcy filing in the wake of its failed merger with JetBlue.
Spirit has been losing money despite strong travel demand and has failed to report a profit in five out of the last six quarters, raising doubts about its ability to manage looming debt maturities.
The ultra-low-cost carrier said last week it has reached an agreement with its credit card processor U.S. Bank National Association to extend a debt refinancing deadline by two months until Dec. 23.
The airline has warned of a bigger third-quarter loss due to a tough race for price-sensitive leisure travelers and an oversupply of airline seats in the domestic market.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Surbhi Misra; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Alan Barona and Savio D’Souza)
