JetBlue has announced its plans to wind down its partnership with American Airlines following a challenge from the Justice Department. Starting July 21, customers will no longer be able to book new codeshare bookings on American Airlines, and vice versa. However, for customers who have already made bookings, they can add their loyalty account numbers before this date in order to earn points and other perks.
Dave Fintzen, vice president of the Northeast Alliance for JetBlue, expressed disappointment at the end of popular benefits like codesharing and reciprocal loyalty benefits. He believes that the U.S. Department of Justice’s opposition to these features misses the mark.
In 2020, American Airlines and JetBlue formed an agreement to join forces in New York and Boston. However, this partnership was legally challenged by the Justice Department, which argued that it would lead to increased fares and reduced competition. In May, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Justice Department, resulting in the decision to wind down the partnership.
JetBlue has recently stated that it will not contest this ruling as it focuses on addressing antitrust concerns in a separate lawsuit regarding its proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines.
