JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) will not seek a merger with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), chief executive Joanna Geraghty has said during a discussion panel at the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Delhi.
“We have spent a lot of time with the United States Department of Justice over the last five years, and we are playing it safe,” she said. She was referring to the blocked Northeast Alliance (NEA) with American Airlines, which was struck down in 2023.
In late May 2025, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines announced ‘Blue Sky,’ a new partnership which includes United accessing slots at New York JFK beginning in 2027, both carriers exchanging timings at New York Newark, and opening up codeshare and frequent flyer benefits. The deal is subject to regulatory review.
Separately, in an interview with Bloomberg, United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby also clarified that there are no plans to merge with JetBlue, citing cultural and technical complexities in any airline consolidation moves. However, their partnership should expand their presence on both sides of the Hudson River and in Boston, he outlined.
"Mergers are hard and they're complicated," he said. "There's a lot of brain damage that goes into doing a merger, and so I'm reluctant to do a merger."
Kirby also defended its Newark hub, calling it a “crown jewel” and a vital international gateway despite recent safety issues at the airport. He said that Newark will become the most reliable in the New York area from mid-June onwards as the United States government improves the air traffic control system, which has recently been under pressure after several telecommunications outages that impacted communications and radar display, disrupting operations at Newark.
“Short-term, this is going to be painful for us at Newark, but it is better in the long-term because the FAA is going to do what they do with JFK and New York La Guardia, which is to manage the number of flights to be equal to the capacity at the airport,” he said.
