JetBlue is currently talking with several airlines about potential partnerships in the United States following the dismantling of the Northeast Alliance (NEA) with 
American Airlines
, an extensive codeshare agreement focused on flights in Boston and New York.
Potential partnerships
During JetBlue’s Q4 2024 and 2024 earnings call on January 28, Joanna Geraghty, the chief executive officer (CEO) of JetBlue
, said that the airline was having conversations “with a number of carriers right now.”
The airline and its potential partner carriers are discussing possible future partnerships. However, while Geraghty mentioned that there was nothing to announce right now, she did say that Leo Sorokin, the District Judge of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who ruled against the NEA in May 2023, laid out a framework that was acceptable “under at least the prior administration.”
Photo: NYC Russ | Shutterstock
Earlier during the call, the JetBlue CEO noted that with the new administration in Washington, DC, focused on efficiency, there is an opportunity to structurally improve the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA
) and fix the problems related to air traffic control (ATC).
“We look forward to partnering with the new leaders at the DOT and FAA to make this happen.”
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Relaxed regulatory environment
While Geraghty did not explicitly mention the incoming administration’s potentially more relaxed approach toward regulations and competition that could assist airlines, her peers have. For example, during United Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings call, Scott Kirby, the CEO of 
United Airlines
, said that he had a lot of confidence in this administration that is “focused on doing things that unlock American innovation and entrepreneurialism.”
“[…] remove regulatory burdens and expand the economy. And so I think, my base case is that the net-net of that is going to be a strong, robust economy and strong, robust demand for United Airlines.”
Similarly, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom mentioned that the current administration “will be very cognizant of regulatory issues that can benefit both the airlines and our customers as well, and we’ll be working closely with them on that.”
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Nevertheless, during the earnings call, Marty St. George, the president of JetBlue, clarified that the airline already has several dozen airline partners worldwide, including many international ones. While JetBlue is focusing on working out what “might make sense for us in a domestic partnership,” it will not take its eye off the ball off international partnerships, St. George added.
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Retrenching in Boston and refocusing on leisure
However, St. George noted that JetBlue was still getting back to its peak capacity at Boston Logan International Airport
(BOS) before NEA. The executive recalled that with the introduction of the JetForward plan in July 2024, the airline realized that in the entire Northeast, it had given up on a lot of leisure lift when it moved aircraft from Northeast leisure traffic into New York LaGuardia Airport
(LGA) to cover business traffic.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
“So we finally finished unwinding LaGuardia growth in 2024 and that traffic, those [available seat miles (ASM), are now being redeployed to where they originally were, which was Northeast leisure.”
Its network was one of the key focus points of the JetForward plan. As mentioned by Ursula Hurley, the chief financial officer (CFO) of JetBlue, the airline made a number of meaningful Northeast network changes in late 2024.
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