AA, JetBlue Seek To Salvage Part Of Partnership Despite Losing Antitrust Suit

American Airlines and JetBlue have expressed that they should continue to sell tickets on each other’s flights in the Northeast and maintain their frequent-flyer programs, despite their partnership being found in violation of antitrust laws.

The Justice Department stated that granting the airlines’ request would result in the loss of advantages from reinstating competition among them for travelers, per ABC News. 

Both the airlines and the government submitted filings to a federal judge in Boston regarding the execution of his ruling last month to dissolve the partnership. The CEO of American Airlines has stated that they plan to appeal the decision.

Read more: Judge Rules AA & JetBlue Must Unwind Partnership

The Justice Department has proposed a final judgment requiring American and JetBlue to terminate most aspects of their deal immediately. To avoid inconvenience to travelers, the airlines are advised to honor existing tickets. However, they are required to gradually phase out their sharing of airport gates and takeoff and landing slots at major airports.

The airlines are opposed to the Justice department’s request to restrict code-sharing and reciprocal frequent-flyer benefits, as these practices are typical in the airline industry. American and JetBlue also expressed reservations about the proposed 10-year ban on revenue-sharing and route coordination with each other and any other U.S. airline for two years.