Amid Rumors, JetBlue CEO Says Airline Not Interested in Merging with United

Just days after the announcement of JetBlue and United’s Blue Sky partnership, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty dismissed any speculation about a potential merger between the two airlines.

On Monday, Geraghty emphasized that the new partnership is not a step toward a full merger. Instead, she said, JetBlue—which recently faced an antitrust case over its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines, ultimately leading to the partnership’s termination—is “playing it safe.”

“We’ve spent a lot of time with the Department of Justice over the last five years, and we’re playing it safe,” Geraghty said during this week’s IATA Annual General Meeting in New Delhi.

After several weeks of speculation, United and JetBlue announced on May 29 that they had entered into an official collaboration, dubbed Blue Sky. The partnership allows members of United’s MileagePlus loyalty program to earn and redeem miles on JetBlue flights, and vice versa for JetBlue’s TrueBlue members. The two airlines will also share reciprocal loyalty benefits.

The agreement includes an interline arrangement, enabling travelers to book flights on either airline through each other’s websites and apps. However, because the partnership is not a codeshare, each airline will continue to publish, market, and price its flights independently under its own brand.