JetBlue, United partnership gets go-ahead from U.S. Transportation Department

In this Oct. 18, 2019, file photo a JetBlue Airways flight flies in to Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer / AP Photo)

JetBlue and United Airlines have cleared the U.S. Department of Transportation’s review of their planned partnership which allows them to proceed with the implementation, the companies said on Tuesday.

JetBlue had been seeking partnerships after a federal judge blocked its alliance with American Airlines in 2023.

In May, JetBlue and United unveiled a partnership, dubbed “Blue Sky,” that would allow travelers to book flights on both carriers’ websites, while interchangeably earning and using points in their frequent flyer programs.

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Under the agreement, JetBlue would also provide United access to slots at the congested JFK International Airport at New York for up to seven daily round-trip flights, set to begin in 2027.

The company said that the partnership is expected to contribute US$50 million more in incremental operating profit than it had initially planned.

“We believe Blue Sky will enable each airline to offer its customers access to hundreds of new flights and destinations through a traditional interline agreement,” said Marty St. George, JetBlue’s president.

Spirit Airlines in June had urged the U.S. transportation body to reject the collaboration between the two carriers, saying it was anticompetitive and would prompt other large carriers to pursue similar deals.

Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, said by removing the antitrust triggers that led to the collapse of JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance — such as shared revenue and joint scheduling — BlueSky has introduced a model that other mid-sized carriers could replicate with less risk of regulatory pushback.

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Antitrust officials under the Trump administration have been taking a more lenient approach to corporate deals, a shift from the stricter stance seen under Biden.

In June, they approved several multibillion-dollar deals in just one week, signaling a greater willingness to settle with companies. More than 100 transactions have been granted shorter reviews this year, according to FTC data from July.

JetBlue and United said that Blue Sky would begin introducing new customer benefits starting in fall 2025, rolling them out in phases.

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Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber