American Airlines has ended partnership talks with JetBlue and has filed a lawsuit seeking damages after the failed Northeast Alliance (NEA), a letter to staff from American's vice chair and chief strategy officer Steve Johnson said on April 28, 2025.
The NEA ended after a trial in 2023 found the alliance had been anticompetitive and was later upheld by a US appeals court late last year. American and JetBlue had been in discussions to form a new partnership, focussing on network and loyalty.
“Although we proposed a very attractive proposition to JetBlue and its customers and team, it became clear over time that JetBlue was focussed on different business priorities,” said Johnson.
During JetBlue's first quarter earnings call on April 29, 2025, the company's president Marty St. George said the company has made “good progress” on discussions regarding a domestic airline partnership. JetBlue expects to announce this partnership some point during the second quarter. According to a Reuters report, citing three industry sources familiar with the matter, JetBlue is in talks with United Airlines.
Management on the call later said: “This is not an unexpected turn, it's just part of chewing up any money owed between the parties.”
“Ultimately, we were unable to agree on a construct that preserved the benefits of the partnership we envisioned, made sense operationally or financially, or was consistent with the travel rewards and co-branded card business objectives that are so important to our strategy and our customers,” continued Johnson.
He added that the airline had tabled the claim while they were in discussions with JetBlue. “Now that those conversations have concluded, we need to address the accounting and reconciliation following the termination of the NEA,” he said.
The company will continue to compete “aggressively” in the competitive New York and Boston markets, Johnson said, noting the growth of its loyalty programme AAdvantage as a positive sign that New York is “sufficiently large and lucrative to support and value multiple competing networks”.
American reported a net loss of $475 million in the first quarter of the year and, following its peers, pulled its full year guidance amid softening demand.