The US Supreme Court rejected on Monday a request made by American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) to overturn a judicial decision scrapping the company’s Northeast Alliance (NEA) with JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK). The airline argued that the first-instance ruling violated federal antitrust law.

The carrier called the Court’s decision not to take up the case disappointing.

“The Northeast Alliance was designed to increase competition and expand customer options in the Northeast, which it clearly did during the time it was allowed to operate,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. It appealed, arguing that the ruling would prevent the company from entering into similar future arrangements, either with JetBlue or other carriers.

In parallel to the appeal, American Airlines also filed a lawsuit in April against JetBlue seeking damages following the alliance's collapse. JetBlue stated earlier in the year that it was not interested in overturning the decision and has since announced a new partnership with another major US carrier, United Airlines. This new alliance has also raised eyebrows, with Spirit Airlines filing a complaint categorising it as “anti-competitive” and similar to the NEA.

The Northeast Alliance was announced in July 2020 and received approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in January 2021 during President Donald Trump's first term. However, in 2023, under the Biden administration, the partnership was struck down.