CHICAGO (Reuters) -JetBlue Airways and United Airlines have been negotiating a partnership, three industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The New York-based airline has been seeking partnerships after a federal judge blocked its so-called Northeast Alliance with American Airlines in 2023.
The partnership with United is envisioned as quite different from the NEA, the sources said. While the alliance is expected to focus on providing greater connectivity to customers and allowing them to earn and burn frequent-flier miles, the two carriers will not coordinate on schedules and pricing, they added.
The sources said the two airlines have yet to finalize all the details and cautioned that things could still change.
Asked for comment, a JetBlue spokesperson referred to remarks made earlier on Tuesday by the airline’s president, Marty St. George, on a conference call after the company released quarterly results.
St. George told analysts and investors that the company was negotiating with a domestic airline with a larger network and that an announcement was expected in the current quarter. He did not elaborate.
Chicago-based United said it does not comment on industry speculation.
JetBlue has been struggling to return to sustained profitability after the COVID-19 pandemic. It has managed to post a profit in just two of the past nine quarters.
Its shares have fallen about 47% this year. In a sign of bearish investor sentiment, short interest in the company’s shares has risen by 35% since early February.
A slump in travel demand as a result of the economic uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war has only exacerbated its pain. Earlier on Tuesday, JetBlue withdrew its outlook for 2025.
Growth in its revenue generated from customer loyalty programs, aided by new partnerships, is currently one of the airline’s few bright spots. The company is relying on alliances with other airlines to bolster that revenue stream by offering customers greater connectivity.
It had also been discussing a new partnership with American Airlines. But the two sides failed to reach an agreement and the Texas-based carrier has filed a lawsuit seeking damages after the collapse of the NEA, American’s vice chair, Steve Johnson, said in a letter to employees on Monday.
JetBlue’s falling market capitalization has also led to speculation that it could become a potential acquisition target.
In January, following market talk that United was considering a bid for JetBlue, the Chicago-based airline had to inform the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it was “not in negotiations or discussions with any other airline regarding a merger, acquisition or similar strategic transaction.”
Last month, United CEO Scott Kirby said that while the company would like to have a greater presence in New York, it was not ready to deal with all the regulatory hurdles.
“I would like to have a presence on the other side of the river at JFK (airport),” Kirby had said. “But man, all the headache, all the brain damage of buying a whole airline to get there. That’s a lot to do.”
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New YorkEditing by Matthew Lewis)
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
