Spirit Airlines’ Rivals Are Circling Like Sharks in 2025’s Brutal Skies

Blood in the water—and Spirit Airlines is bleeding.

The budget carrier's turbulence has competitors sharpening their teeth. JetBlue, Frontier, and other low-cost predators smell weakness in the market—and they're moving in.

Aggressive route expansions, fare slashing, and loyalty poaching have become the new normal. Spirit's once-unbeatable pricing now looks vulnerable as rivals undercut and outmaneuver.

It’s a classic finance play: kick 'em while they're down and grab market share while it's cheap. Because nothing says 'efficient markets' like watching vultures feast on a wounded competitor.

Frontier Airlines Also Is Going After Spirit's Customers

United wasn't the first rival to go after Spirit's customers in recent weeks. Frontier Airlines, a unit of Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC), last week called itself "America's Low Fare Airline" and announced 20 new routes, including 16 serving Spirit focus cities Baltimore, Detroit, and Houston.

Frontier has been needling rival airlines for some time now. Back in March, it issued a press release headlined "Frontier Airlines Is Ready to Be Your New Love"—nodding at the ticker symbol of Southwest Airlines (LUV), which was getting rid of its decades-long "bags fly free" policy, and offering a free checked bag with a promo code.

On Wednesday, Spirit's parent, Spirit Aviation Holdings, said it had received bankruptcy court approval to enable it "to continue operating as usual, including honoring tickets, reservations, credits and loyalty points; paying wages and honoring benefits; and paying certain critical vendors and partners for goods and services delivered prior to the filing date."