Spirit Aviation Holdings, parent of Spirit Airlines, is reportedly in renewed talks to merge with Frontier Airlines parent Frontier Airlines Holdings, insiders familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg.

The potential transaction could be announced as early as this month, but discussions are ongoing and could still end without a deal being reached.

This would mark the fourth attempt by Frontier to combine with Spirit. The first offer was made in February 2022, but that process was abruptly overtaken by JetBlue Airways, which tabled a USD33.50-per-share all-cash bid. Spirit ultimately agreed to merge with JetBlue in July 2022, but a federal judge blocked the deal in January 2024, forcing both carriers to abandon the transaction.

Frontier reopened merger talks with Spirit in October 2024, but those discussions failed to produce an agreement. Spirit subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024. During that restructuring, Frontier again submitted an offer for the ailing carrier, valued at USD2.2 billion. Spirit, which emerged from Chapter 11 with new equity in March 2025, rejected the proposal as “inadequate and unactionable”.

Spirit was later forced to enter renewed restructuring in late August 2025 following a dispute with its largest lessor, AerCap. It was reportedly very close to shutting down over the weekend of December 13-14, but secured USD50 million in emergency funding to continue operations. On the same day that the financing was disclosed, Bloomberg reported the revival of merger talks with Frontier.

Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines has recently replaced its long-time chief executive Barry Biffle, appointing James Dempsey as interim chief.

ch-aviation fleets data shows that Frontier Airlines operates 173 aircraft: six A320-200s, eighty-seven A320-200Ns, twenty-one A321-200s, and fifty-nine A321-200NX. Spirit Airlines has a fleet of 214 aircraft: sixty-two A320-200s, ninety-one A320-200Ns, twenty-nine A321-200s, and thirty-two A321-200NX. However, Spirit’s fleet will be heavily downsized, as the carrier has reached agreements with lessors and OEM providers to return leases, as well as restructure future aircraft orders, as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 process.

Spirit was not immediately available to comment, and Frontier declined to comment.