The Justice Department and several states sued to break up the airline alliance.
American Airlines and JetBlue Airways must abandon their partnership in the northeast United States, a federal judge in Boston ruled Friday, saying that the government proved the deal reduces competition in the airline industry.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote in his decision that American and JetBlue violated antitrust law as they carved up Northeast markets between them, "replacing full-throated competition with broad cooperation." The partnership had the blessing of the Trump administration when it took effect in early 2021. It let the airlines sell seats on each other's flights and share revenue from them. It covered many of their flights to and from Boston's Logan Airport and three airports in the New York City area: John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty in New Jersey.
The Justice Department sued to kill the deal in 2021, and was joined by six states and the District of Columbia. The airlines and their expert witnesses argued that the government couldn't show that the alliance, which had been in place for about 18 months at the time, had led to higher fares. They said it helped them start new routes from New York and Boston. And most importantly, they said, the deal benefitted consumers by creating more competition against Delta and United Airlines.
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