Frontier Airlines goes after struggling rival Spirit's customers with 20 new routes

Frontier Airlines is going aft customers of Spirit Airlines, whose fiscal footing has gotten truthful shaky successful caller weeks that it warned earlier this period it mightiness not beryllium capable to survive different year without much cash.

Frontier connected Tuesday announced 20 routes it plans to commencement this winter, galore of them successful large Spirit markets similar its basal astatine Fort Lauderdale International Airport successful Florida. Frontier overlaps with Spirit connected 35% of its capacity, much than immoderate different airline, according to a Monday enactment from Deutsche Bank hose expert Michael Linenberg.

Some of Frontier's caller routes from Fort Lauderdale see flights to Detroit, Houston, Chicago, and Charlotte, North Carolina. It's besides rolling retired routes from Houston to New Orleans; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and Guatemala City.

Frontier had tried and failed to merge with its budget-airline rival respective times since 2022.

"I'm not present to speech astir M&A," Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said successful an interrogation with CNBC connected Tuesday erstwhile asked whether Frontier would bargain Spirit.

Both carriers person struggled from changing lawsuit tastes for much upmarket seats and trips abroad, an oversupply of home capacity, and higher labour and different costs. Spirit's situation has go much dire however, aft it emerged from 4 months of bankruptcy extortion successful March facing galore of the aforesaid problems.

Ultra-low outgo airlines are besides challenged by larger rivals similar United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines that person rolled retired their ain no-frills basal system tickets but besides connection customers bigger choices of destinations and different perks connected committee similar snacks and beverages.

Stock prices of rival airlines surged aft Spirit's informing earlier this month.

Biffle said the bearer wants to go the country's largest fund hose and has rolled retired loyalty matching programs to drawback much customers. Frontier's capableness was somewhat smaller than Spirit's successful the 2nd quarter, done the second had slashed its flying by astir 24% from a twelvemonth earlier, portion Frontier was down lone 2%.

Spirit past week said it drew down the full $275 cardinal of its revolver and portion it reached a two-year hold connected its recognition paper processing statement with U.S. Bank National Association, it agreed that it would clasp backmost up to $3 cardinal a time from the carrier.

— CNBC's Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.