Frontier is making an offer to acquire the beleaguered Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in November.

Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year, says it has rejected the new Frontier overture but would be open to a higher offer.

Rather than accept Frontier’s offer, Spirit said it will stick to its current plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Frontier Airlines is making another offer to merge with bankrupt Spirit Airlines, less than two years after a previous plan fell through.

Frontier Airlines is attempting for a second time to merge with the now bankrupt Spirit Airlines, which declared bankruptcy late last year as budget airlines struggle.

Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024, six months after a proposed merger with JetBlue collapsed.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines says it’s ready to keep talking after bankrupt Spirit Airlines rejected its offer to merge.

Frontier said a merger would be better for long-term viability, making the combination the fifth largest airline in the United States and producing at least $600 million in operational savings. It argued that the deal would offer greater value to Spirit’s stakeholders than the company’s current restructuring plan.

Frontier tried to merge with Spirit in 2022 but was outbid by JetBlue. However, the Justice Department sued to block the $3.8 billion JetBlue deal, saying it would drive up prices for Spirit customers who depend on low fares, and a federal judge agreed in January. JetBlue and Spirit dropped their merger bid two months later.

The South Florida-based budget airlines has rejected another one of Frontier's attempts to combine. Find out the details.

Budget carrier Frontier Airlines announced on Wednesday that it has made another bid for fellow discount carrier Spirit Airlines, which is in bankruptcy, for an undisclosed sum.