Global Courant
American Airlines and JetBlue are trying to salvage parts of their Northeast partnership even after a federal judge ruled they must break the deal
By means ofDAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer
FILE – A JetBlue Airbus A320 taxis to a gate on Oct. 26, 2016, after landing, while an American Airlines plane is parked at the gate at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida. The two airlines must end their cooperation in the northeastern United States, a Boston federal judge ruled on Friday, May 19, 2023, saying the government has proven that the deal reduces competition in the airline industry. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
The associated press
American Airlines and JetBlue said Friday they would be allowed to continue selling tickets on each other’s flights in the Northeast and linking their frequent flyer programs, despite losing an antitrust lawsuit over their partnership.
The Justice Department said if the airlines get their wish, travelers would miss out on the benefits of restoring competition between the airlines.
In separate filings, the airlines and the government told a Boston federal judge how to implement his ruling last month to break the partnership. American’s CEO has said his airline will appeal the ruling.
The Justice Department proposed a final judgment ordering American and JetBlue to immediately terminate most parts of the deal. The government said the airlines should honor existing tickets to avoid hurting travelers, but then quickly phase out their shared airport gates and take-off and landing slots at key airports.
The airlines want to continue to sell tickets on each other’s flights – called code-sharing – and offer reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, as these practices are “common in the airline industry”. American and JetBlue also objected to the Justice Department’s request to be banned from revenue sharing or route coordinating deals with each other for 10 years, and with any other U.S. carrier for two years.
The airlines call their partnership in New York and Boston the Northeast Alliance, or NEA.
The Justice Department said that by asking for elements of the deal to be retained, the airlines are trying “immediately to create a new ‘NEA Lite’.”
The airlines launched their partnership after receiving approval from the outgoing Trump administration in January 2021. They argued it helped them compete with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the Northeast.
The Biden administration sued the airlines in September 2021, arguing that their deal would reduce competition and raise prices for consumers. After a no-jury trial last fall, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the NEA violated federal antitrust laws.
___
This story has been updated to correct that the Trump administration approved the partnership in January 2021, not 2020.
