American Airlines and JetBlue Announce Codeshare Agreement

American Airlines and JetBlue on Thursday morning revealed that the two have signed onto a codeshare agreement that will see them expand their networks better compete with other major airlines in the Northeast markets.

The agreement will see both airlines be able to book passengers on select flights from the other, primarily in the Northeast market—JetBlue will get access to 60 new routes, including better flight options out of New York’s JFK; and American will get access to 130 of JetBlue’s routes, including more in and out of both New York and Boston.

Some of the new service includes new American service from New York JFK to Tel Aviv, Athens, Rio de Janeiro, and more. JetBlue, which coins itself New York’s Hometown Airline, will now offer flights out of all three major New York airports—JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark.

The partnership will also allow passengers to expand their loyalty benefits to the other’s airline and book a single itinerary with flights from both airlines.  

In a statement announcing the news, JetBlue’s COO and president Joanna Geraghty said that the partnership “is the next step in our plan to accelerate our coronavirus recovery, get our crewmembers and our aircraft flying again, a fuel JetBlue’s growth in the future.”

Also in a statement, American’s president Robert Ison called the agreement “an incredible opportunity for both of our airlines.”

“American has a strong history in the Northeast, and we’re proud to partner with JetBlue as the latest chapter in that long history.”

American announced a similar partnership with Alaska Airlines prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—on Feb. 13 American announced that it and Alaska have created a codeshare agreement to give its guests more access to West Coast destinations and some longer-haul international flights.