Spirit Airlines stock tumbled in premarket trading Wednesday following a report that said the ultra-low-cost carrier was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. The filing could come within weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that merger ...

Spirit Airlines disclosed it is in talks with its creditors for a restructuring deal, hours after it was reported that the company’s merger talks with rival low-cost carrier Frontier had fallen through.

Spirit Airlines Inc. shares fell more than 60% in the after-hours session Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported it was nearing bankruptcy after merger talks with Frontier Group Holdings Inc. fell through.

Spirit AeroSystems said on Tuesday that Boeing will pay a total of up to $350 million in advance payments to the firm, providing the struggling supplier a lifeline as it continues to burn cash after four consecutive years of losses.

Boeing has agreed to pay Spirit AeroSystems up to $350 million in advance to keep producing products for it as the fuselage supplier works through a liquidity crunch. The jet maker said Tuesday that the advance payments are intended to help Spirit address high levels of inventory and lower operational cash flows.