American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) has ended its partnership discussions with JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) and filed a lawsuit seeking damages following the collapse of their Northeast Alliance (NEA), Vice Chair Steve Johnson said in a letter to employees.
In recent months, American Airlines had been exploring an opportunity “to further enhance our network by renewing a partnership with JetBlue,” Johnson wrote. However, despite the proposal, JetBlue appeared to be focused on different business priorities and no agreement was reached.
While American will continue to focus on competing in New York and Boston, the company has also “filed a lawsuit against JetBlue today to recover money owed to American following the unwinding of the Northeast Alliance. We understandably tabled this claim while we were in discussions with JetBlue, but now that those conversations have concluded, we need to address the accounting and reconciliation following the termination of the NEA,” Johnson explained.
JetBlue’s chief executive officer, Joanna Geraghty, said during a first-quarter investors call that it had not yet been served. However, “since the court order that terminated the NEA, we have been working with American to wind down the remaining aspects. This is not an unexpected turn, [it is] part of simply reconciling any monies owed between the parties.”
The Northeast Alliance was announced in July 2020, receiving approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in January 2021 under the first term of President Donald Trump. However, under the Biden administration the partnership was struck down in 2023.
JetBlue, which is currently undergoing a business transformation, stated earlier this year that it was in discussions with multiple airlines regarding a potential new partnership. Following the recent backlash and breakdown in relations with American, JetBlue will not pursue any further alliance with them, said Hurley.
“I think I'm going to take a hard pass on that at the end of the day [...]. We will allow the wind-down of the NEA to continue, as it has for the past couple of years. But, you know, we have been meeting with multiple carriers,” she said, adding that it expects to announce another partner later, hopefully during the second quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, JetBlue posted operating revenue of USD2.1 billion, a decrease of 3.1% year-on-year. It recorded a net loss of USD208 million for the quarter.
On a separate note, JetBlue updated the ongoing Pratt & Whitney engine recalls, stating that the situation had improved. Initially, the company expected to have the number of aircraft on the ground in the mid- to high teens throughout the year. However, during the first quarter it only had ten planes grounded on average.
The company's fleet comprises 312 aircraft - forty-five A220-300s (with four currently inactive), 130 A320-200s, sixty-three A321-200s, twenty-six A321-200NX (with seven currently inactive), eleven A321-200NX(LR)s, and thirty-seven E190s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
