American Airways sues JetBlue after partnership talks collapse

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American Airways is suing JetBlue “to recover money owed to American following the unwinding of the Northeast Alliance (NEA),” a letter despatched to crew members on Monday stated.

American shared the letter from its Vice Chair and Chief Technique Officer, Steve Johnson, following “industry rumors and media reports about American’s discussions with JetBlue.”

American Airways and JetBlue had been discussing a brand new partnership aimed toward strengthening its community and loyalty program, a choose discovered after a 2023 trial that the NEA violated federal antitrust legislation — a call which was then upheld by a federal appeals court docket.

Johnson’s letter to workers stated American Airways is specializing in the New York and Boston markets. 

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File photograph of JetBlue and American Airways planes at LaGuardia Airport within the Queens borough of New York Metropolis. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg / Getty Photographs)

“Over the past year, we have added more than 20 new routes from LGA and JFK using the slots returned to us after the NEA ended,” Johnson stated within the letter.

“Together with our partners, this summer we will offer New York travelers more than 250 daily nonstop flights to 100 markets around the world – from two exceptional terminal facilities, including the best lounges in our system. At JFK, we continue to improve connectivity by co-locating at T8 with our partners, including British Airways, Iberia, JAL, Qatar, and, as we recently announced, Alaska and Hawaiian.” 

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An American Airways aircraft lands on a runway close to a parked JetBlue aircraft.  ( Joe Raedle / Getty Photographs)

In February, JetBlue stated it was nonetheless in talks with a number of airways to ascertain a partnership and is prepared to allocate extra funds to get a deal finished.

The NEA was introduced in July 2020 and obtained approval from the U.S. Transportation Division simply days earlier than the tip of Republican President Donald Trump’s first time period in January 2021.

A file photograph of a JetBlue airplane on an undisclosed airport’s tarmac.  (Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)

The alliance allowed the 2 carriers to coordinate flights and share income.

Courtroom information, filed in Texas and obtained by Reuters, present American Airways is in search of financial reduction of greater than $1 million, excluding legal professional charges and prices from JetBlue.

Ticker Safety Final Change Change % AAL AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. 9.85 +0.10
+1.03%
JBLU JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP. 4.07 +0.19
+4.90%

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JetBlue, in response to the lawsuit, stated it has been working collaboratively with American to wind down the NEA since a court docket ruling deemed it anti-competitive.

“We plan to review American’s complaint, and as this is pending litigation, we cannot comment further at this time,” a JetBlue spokesperson instructed Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.