American and JetBlue begin to unroll Northeast Alliance

Saturday, July 15, 2023

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways have begun to unwind their Northeast Alliance, two months after a court ruled it was anti-competitive.

The Fort Worth-based carrier said on 14 July it is nixing codeshares and eliminating reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and award bookings beginning at the end of next week.

American writes in a note to customers stated This is just the first step in the wind-down process that will take place over the coming months. They will continue to work with the JetBlue team to ensure customers who have existing codeshare bookings can travel seamlessly without disruption to their travel plans.

The airline maintains the alliance is “pro-competitive, pro-consumer”, even though a US judge in May ruled it was not.

Earlier this week, American and JetBlue told the the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts that they will terminate the alliance on 29 July.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) had sued American and JetBlue in September 2021 over the now-almost-four-year old collaboration, setting up a trial in Boston that started last year. In a 19 May ruling, a federal judge said the companies’ cooperation in the Northeast USA – which they framed as an attempt to better compete with heavyweight Delta Air Lines – is unlawful and violates the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

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