American Airlines has ended talks of forming a partnership with JetBlue and has filed a lawsuit against the carrier that seeks damages from the airlines’ failed alliance agreement.
The two carriers had launched plans to form a Northeast Alliance back in 2020, as American was rapidly expanding operations in focus cities like New York and Boston, which are also two of JetBlue’s most important gateways. The alliance was scrapped by federal courts in 2023 for violating antitrust laws.
Following the dissolution of the Northeast Alliance, the airlines continued partnership negotiations, hoping to find a way to dovetail their similar operations that would be less entwined than a full-blown alliance. American said on Monday, however, that those talks have collapsed.
“Although we proposed a very attractive proposition to JetBlue and its customers and team, it became clear over time that JetBlue was focused on different business priorities,” Steve Johnson, American’s vice chair and chief strategy officer, said in a note to employees that was made public by the airline. “Ultimately, we were unable to agree on a construct that preserved the benefits of the partnership we envisioned, made sense operationally or financially, or was consistent with the travel rewards and co-branded card business objectives that are so important to our strategy and our customers.”
On top of halting negotiations, American says it has filed a lawsuit against JetBlue that seeks money owed that dates back to the original Northeast Alliance (NEA) agreement. “We understandably tabled this claim while we were in discussions with JetBlue, but now that those conversations have concluded, we need to address the accounting and reconciliation following the termination of the NEA,” Johnson said.
For its part, JetBlue said in February that it has been exploring new partnership opportunities with multiple airlines in the United States. The carrier was also blocked by courts from an attempted acquisition of Spirit Airlines in 2024.
On its earnings call on Tuesday, JetBlue executives said the carrier was making “good progress” in negotiating a partnership with a domestic airline with a larger network. JetBlue president Marty St. George said on the call that there should be an announcement on that front made in the second quarter of 2025. Once launched, St. George says the new partnership will offer JetBlue fliers a broader route network, as well as more opportunities for frequent fliers to earn and burn the airline’s TrueBlue rewards points.
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