The move comes after federal courts declined to approve a merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines and demanded they unwind a marketing partnership with American Airlines on concerns they would stifle competition. Both of those decisions were handed down in 2024.
The JetBlue-United partnership, termed by the airlines as Blue Sky, will allow the airlines to offer reciprocal benefits to their frequent flyer members and share passengers between airlines, but will stop short of the significant codeshare agreement the airline had planned with American. JetBlue and United will show each other’s flights on their respective websites, but full details on which flights will be available for sale are forthcoming.
Interline agreements differ from the codeshare agreement that JetBlue had forged with American as part of what both carriers termed the Northeast Alliance. In that agreement, JetBlue and American had coordinated schedules and pooled revenue in New York and Boston. In an interline agreement, carriers are unable to coordinate fares or schedules but are still able to sell airlines’ flights on a single ticket and transfer bags.
As part of the deal, the airlines will trade slots at New York’s JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. JetBlue will provide access to seven pairs of slots at JFK for United to resume service from the airport, and United will provide eight slots for JetBlue in Newark. United suspended service at JFK Airport in 2022. United previously ended service at JFK in 2015 before returning in 2021. United had focused on providing limited service from the airport only to its California hubs of Los Angeles and San Francisco, while maintaining a large hub at Newark. JetBlue is the second-largest operator at JFK behind Delta Air Lines.
Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program and United’s MileagePlus program will also be able to earn and redeem miles for each other’s flights later this year. Each airline will also trade off on offering perks for each other’s frequent flyers, such as priority boarding, extra legroom, preferred seating, and free checked bags. The airlines will not allow mileage transfers between programs or directly match status between programs. Members of JetBlue’s Mosaic program will also not have access to the status-based first-class upgrades offered to Mileage Plus Premier members, although they will have access to extra legroom economy plus seating.
United will also transition the platform for hotel, rental car, cruise, and travel insurance purchases from their current provider to JetBlue’s in-house Paisly platform.
The failed merger with Spirit and the end of the Northeast Alliance with American were costly for JetBlue, which had spent significant time and resources planning for them. The airline trimmed flights and closed some cities earlier this year, including Burbank, Palm Springs, San Jose, California; and Tallahassee, Florida. The airline also significantly reduced service at Los Angeles (LAX) and some regional service from Fort Lauderdale (FLL), planning to focus on the airline’s traditional market strength in the Northeast to improve profitability.
United operates a large hub at Newark, but generally flies only to its hubs from many other cities in the Northeast. With a JetBlue partnership, frequent fliers on both airlines could have access to more options, particularly to leisure destinations in Florida and the Caribbean, on a single ticket. JetBlue customers could also gain access to United’s large portfolio of international destinations from its eastern hubs at Chicago O’Hare, Washington Dulles, or Newark.
https://www.fodors.com/news/author/scott-laird
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