The US Department of Justice case against the alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways will begin to be examined today as the anti-trust trial begins in Boston.
In 2020, American and JetBlue joined forces in Boston and New York creating the so-called Northeast Alliance, where the airlines will share some revenue and access to airport gates in those two cities.
The alliance was set up by American and JetBlue to better compete against United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The Justice Department argues that the alliance is a partial merger and reduces competition.
“This case is straightforward,” the Justice Department wrote this month in a legal brief describing its arguments. Referring to the alliance, it added: “The NEA eliminates competition between the largest airline in the world and a disruptive competitor on flights to and from Boston and New York. It deprives the public of the benefits that the rivalry has brought to passengers for two decades.”
The Boston trial is scheduled to last about three weeks at the US District Court before Judge Leo T. Sorokin. Top executives from both airlines are expected to testify, as are a handful of economists. JetBlue’s chief executive, Robin Hayes, is expected to be the first witness.