American and JetBlue have made the decision to stop selling seats on each other’s flights starting next Friday. This comes after a federal judge ruled that their partnership in the Northeast violated antitrust laws. The judge ordered the airlines to end their partnership, which allowed them to share passengers, revenue, and coordinate schedules in the northeastern U.S. American and JetBlue argued that they needed to team up in order to effectively compete with Delta and United at congested airports in New York City and Boston. However, the Justice Department, along with six states and the District of Columbia, sued to block the partnership and ultimately won their case.
“We are disappointed to be ending popular benefits like codesharing and reciprocal loyalty benefits,” said Dave Fintzen, vice president of the Northeast Alliance at JetBlue. “With the court’s recent ruling and the termination of the NEA, we have to sunset them in short order.” JetBlue has decided not to appeal the ruling so it can focus on its acquisition of Spirit Airlines, a deal that has also faced challenges from the Justice Department. American, on the other hand, plans to appeal the ruling on the Northeast Alliance.
Both airlines will work with customers who have existing bookings to ensure their plans are not disrupted. However, after Thursday, customers will no longer be able to use American AAdvantage frequent flyer miles to book flights on JetBlue. This is just the first step in a wind-down process that will take place over the coming months.
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