Spirit Airlines stock dropped more than 50% on Wednesday upon news the company may file for bankruptcy.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Spirit is preparing to file for bankruptcy after merger talks with Frontier Airlines fell through.
Spirit is one of the country's largest low-cost carriers — with service across 90 destinations in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. The company became famous for its a la carte offerings, allowing customers to customize their experience. For instance, travelers can pay extra to select their seats, carry on bags and order drinks.
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Spirit has been looking to merge with another airline for the past couple of years amid growing competition in the industry.
Frontier was first in the mix in 2022 before JetBlue won favor and was set to merge with Spirit. However, that merger faced opposition from the federal government.
In January, a federal judge sided with the Biden administration, which filed a suit to stop the merger. The Biden administration said that the merger violated antitrust laws and would hurt consumers.
Although the companies said they disagreed with the ruling, they opted not to fight it.
There was apparently a renewed effort to merge with Frontier, but that deal has been unsuccessful.
