Spirit’s limping through the terminal like a wounded gazelle… and Frontier’s wasting no time to pounce.

Well, Frontier wasted no time whatsoever to take advantage of Spirit Airline’s impending bankruptcy after their SEC Filing had all the vibes of a beggar on the street. In an effort to deliver the kill shot and finally grab the budget airline throne, Frontier just announced 20 new routes… and, surprise surprise, they’re in Spirit’s backyard.

Starting with Fort Lauderdale (Spirit’s big moneymaker), Houston, Detroit, Charlotte, and Chicago… the very places Spirit built its value-airline kingdom on. Frontier didn’t pick these markets by accident… they’re going straight after the routes that make up Spirit’s core business. I’ll call it what it is: a corporate home invasion. Frontier’s walking straight into Spirit’s living room, raiding the fridge, and leaving a note that says, “We live here now.”

Of course, it’d be criminal not to mention Spirit’s long, messy relationship with bankruptcy. These guys have been playing chicken with the reaper since 2020, racking up more than $2.5B in losses over four years. They finally tapped out and filed for Chapter 11 in late 2024, strutted out in March 2025 after wiping $795M in debt, and spent about five minutes telling investors they were “better positioned than ever.” But alas, within months, they were back warning the SEC that without fresh capital they might not make it through the year.

(Source: Yahoo Finance)

In response, Moody’s wasted no time tossing their credit rating further into the ocean, and then CEO Ted Christie noped out right before his $3.8M retention bonus hit (Hall of Fame exit timing, honestly). That was the moment the “Spirit comeback” stopped looking like a turnaround story and started looking like a rerun we’ve all seen too many times.

Their last earnings report couldn’t reflect it any better. Spirit lost $245.8M in Q2 alone, burned through its entire $275M revolver, and is down to just $408M in unrestricted cash. Meanwhile, they’ve been demoting pilots, sending flight attendants on unpaid leave, and getting rid of unprofitable routes to at least make an effort. Even their lease agreements are under pressure… with lessors already reaching out to rivals about taking Spirit’s Airbus jets if when sh*t really hits the fan.

On the other end of the tarmac, Frontier, by contrast, lost “only” $70M in the same quarter, which sounds absolutely pathetic except for the fact that in the budget-airline world that’s practically $70 million in profits. Their capacity was down just 2% year-over-year, while Spirit’s fell 24%. And unlike the Greyhound of the sky, Frontier actually has the firepower (and cash on hand) to go on offense. That’s why CEO Barry Biffle has gone on record saying Frontier will scoop up most of Spirit’s market share if (when) the yellow planes finally crash out of the skies.

At this point, Spirit’s story is starting to feel like Groundhog Day. File bankruptcy. Reorganize. Make empty promises. Lose more money. Rinse. Repeat. But this time, there’s a difference. Frontier is circling above, talons out, waiting to rip that “ultra-low-cost king” crown off Spirit’s head. And unless some miracle investor shows up with a briefcase full of bailout money, Spirit won’t have to worry about flirting with bankruptcy because they’ll be standing at the altar, vows written, and ring in hand. And as for Frontier? Well, they’ll be front row at the wedding, enjoying the show.

Normally I’d call this a classic “close your eyes and BTFD” setup… Carvana-style risk, but if it worked you’re staring down 5,000% upside. The only problem is that the stock’s already delisted. So yeah… dream over.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News doesn’t hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.