Two airlines with big ambitions have joined hands to offer their passengers a vastly-expanded choice of routes between Europe and North America. JetBlue and Norwegian, each with a wide network on one continent, will give trans-Atlantic passengers a wider variety of start-and-end points.
The two airlines connect at New York, Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Norwegian has nearly two dozen non-stop routes from the three to European cities, and JetBlue has hubs there, connecting to nearly every major destination in the U.S. as well as a number in the Caribbean and Latin America. From its European hubs, Norwegian has a wide network of other cities. For both airlines, it's an outside-the-alliances way to sell more seats to a wider variety of destinations.
Under the interline agreement for which the two have signed a Letter of Intent, passengers would check in once at their starting point, luggage would be checked through to the final destination. For Norwegian, which has had to scale back the speed of its expansion, it's a way to keep growing without added investment. For JetBlue, which has had European ambitions and will soon start flying to London, it's a quick way into becoming a truly international presence.
Booking is planned to start early next year, with actual connections starting in early summer. So far, no word on connecting frequent-flyer programs, although the Points Guy website was told by Norwegian spokespeople that it could happen in future.
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