American Airlines and JetBlue will go their separate ways, with JetBlue deciding to wind down the cooperation agreements which have seen the two airlines coordinate flights, scheduling and frequent flyer benefits in the New York and Boston markets.
JetBlue announced yesterday that it will not challenge the order from U.S. District Court to end the alliance, and will begin winding down the alliance. American had said it would appeal the decision and will apparently continue to do so, while accepting that JetBlue will end the alliance.
The alliance began in 2020 with approval from the Trump administration was sued as anti-competitive by the Biden administration's Department of Justice. The two airlines made the deal to strengthen their positions in markets dominated by Delta and United.
JetBlue then made a $3.8 billion deal to acquire Spirit Airlines, a deal which also met with a lawsuit from the Justice Department. JetBlue's decision to leave the alliance appears to be based on a hope that ending it will enhance their chance of carrying out the Spirit merger, which would significantly increase JetBlue's size nationally.
Comments (0)