Oct 22 (Reuters) - Frontier Airlines is exploring a

renewed bid for Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ), the Wall Street

Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the

matter.

The two budget carriers have had recent discussions about a

possible merger though the talks are at an early stage and a

deal may not come to fruition, the WSJ report said.

If a deal between Spirit and Frontier is reached, it would

likely happen as part of Spirit restructuring its debt and other

liabilities in bankruptcy, the report added.

Spirit and Frontier did not immediately respond to Reuters'

requests for comment.

Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) came close to a merger deal with Frontier

Group Holdings ( ULCC ) in 2022, the parent company of Frontier

Airlines, which was terminated after JetBlue ( JBLU ) won the bidding war

for Spirit.

The report comes as Spirit faces an uncertain future

following the collapse of its $3.8 billion merger deal with

JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) after the merger was blocked in March

by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Journal had reported earlier in the month that Spirit

was in talks with bondholders over the terms of a potential

bankruptcy filing in the wake of its failed merger with JetBlue ( JBLU ).

Spirit has been losing money despite strong travel demand

and has failed to report a profit in five out of the last six

quarters, raising doubts about its ability to manage looming

debt maturities.

The ultra low-cost carrier said last week it has reached an

agreement with its credit card processor U.S. Bank National

Association to extend a debt refinancing deadline by two months

until Dec. 23.