JetBlue Airways ranked no. 1 in customer satisfaction for best in first and business class.
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JetBlue Airways is on the brink of announce a partnership with one other U.S. airline with a bigger network in the approaching weeks, the carrier’s president said Tuesday. One possibility: United Airlines.
JetBlue’s leaders have repeatedly said they need a partnership to raised compete against larger airlines like Delta Air Lines and United.
JetBlue’s planned acquisition of Spirit Airlines was blocked by the Justice Department last yr, while its partnership within the Northeast with American Airlines unraveled after the carriers lost an antitrust lawsuit in 2023.
The Recent York airline has been in talks with several carriers this yr a few partnership. JetBlue’s president, Marty St. George, said on an earnings call on Tuesday that the corporate expects to make an announcement this quarter. He emphasized that the partner’s greater network would allow customers to earn and burn loyalty points on JetBlue.
“Should you are a customer within the Northeast and you’re keen on JetBlue for leisure, but twice a yr you might have to go to Omaha or Boise, these are places you can’t earn TrueBlue points on now and when this partnership goes forward, you’ll have the opportunity to,” St. George said.
United Airlines could possibly get a foothold (again) into JetBlue’s home hub of John F. Kennedy International Airport in Recent York through the partnership.
“We do not engage in industry speculation,” a United Airlines spokeswoman said. JetBlue declined to comment further on the upcoming partnership.
An Alaska Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier doesn’t have plans to partner with JetBlue and is targeted on its recent merger with Hawaiian Airlines. A Delta Air Lines spokesman said there was no pending announcement from the carrier a few partnership with one other airline.
Southwest Airlines declined to comment.
“No matter who the partner is, this chance has been debated for a while, and it’s going to be in management’s court to prove out the worth proposition,” Melius Research airline analyst Conor Cunningham said in a note Tuesday.
American had been in talks to revive a unique version of its partnership with JetBlue, but those failed and American said Monday that it sued JetBlue.
“Ultimately, we were unable to agree on a construct that preserved the advantages of the partnership we envisioned, made sense operationally or financially,” American Airlines Vice Chair Steve Johnson said in a letter to employees on Monday.