American Airlines and JetBlue Consider Renewed Partnership Despite Legal Setbacks

Two courts have already ruled against a partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue, but rumors still persist that the carriers may want to find a away to forge ahead.

A report from The Points Guy indicates the two airlines may want to make another attempt at partnering even after a ruling last week from the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld an earlier 2023 ruling from a district court that dissolved the Northeast Alliance between American and JetBlue.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled against American as it tried to overturn the original ruling that disbanded the Northeast Alliance with JetBlue. The court decided it had reservations about antitrust violations and monopolistic concerns.

The two rulings each align with the Biden Administration’s stance that the partnership, which was established in 2020 and included the two airlines coordinating schedules, was anti-competitive. The partnership also provided reciprocal loyalty benefits between American Airlines and JetBlue frequent flyer members. 

Last week’s court ruling, may not be the end of the road, according to TPG.

It seems executives from both carriers have done little to stamp out rumors that the airlines may find a way to resurrect their partnership.

"I certainly think there could be a structure that could work, going forward," JetBlue president Marty St. George said Tuesday during an aviation industry conference, according to TPG.

Meanwhile, it seems JetBlue would like to find another carrier with which it can establish a partnership. JetBlue revealed its intentions to pursue that type of arrangement during its third-quarter earnings call recently.

"I think we learned a lot through the NEA as far as what worked for us, what might not work for us,” St. George said on October 29. The CEO also said the carrier could partner up once again with American under a revised or more limited arrangement that the two carriers previously had established.

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