Spirit Airlines, a major American low-cost carrier and the seventh largest in the United States, has seen its stock plummet by 59% following reports of impending bankruptcy. This financial nosedive comes after a failed merger attempt with Frontier Airlines and a federal judge blocking a takeover by JetBlue Airways, raising rumors about the airline's uncertain future.

The discussions between Spirit and Frontier resumed after Spirit's unsuccessful merger attempt with JetBlue. It wasn’t the first time Frontier and Spirit had sought to merge. The airlines had been in sporadic merger talks since 2016. In February 2022, the companies announced a final merger agreement worth $2.9 billion, which fell apart in July of that year.

Spirit abandoned this deal in favor of another offer from competitor JetBlue. However, after a federal judge blocked the merger over concerns that the combination of the two airlines would be anti-competitive, Spirit and JetBlue called off their $3.8 billion deal last March.


A quick look at the numbers

Spirit operates 214 aircraft with an additional 79 on order, all from the Airbus family. The airline serves over 90 destinations across America and employs more than 11,000 people!