American Airlines, JetBlue Partnership: What it Means

American Airlines and jetBlue will enter a new partnership, including a codeshare agreement and new benefits for loyalty members. We break down what it means.

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Just last week, American Airlines and jetBlue announced a new strategic partnership that should benefit both airlines in the Northeast. JetBlue and AA will enter into a codeshare agreement, meaning customers can book itineraries using both airlines. If you booked with American Airlines, one of your flights might be on jetBlue, just with an AA flight number. Connections between the two airlines would be seamless, with one check-in experience. If you check bags, they’ll take care of the transfer between airlines.

The airlines say their “loyalty members will enjoy new benefits,” but have not said exactly what that means. Are we talking reciprocal benefits here?We can safely assume that AAdvantage and True Blue loyalty members will have more opportunities to earn and burn miles, thanks to this new partnership. But beyond that, we don’t know. Perhaps the details have not yet been hammered out.

AA Embraces Domestic Partnerships

This news comes just a few months after American and Alaska Airlines announced a renewal and expansion of their partnership. Not only that, Alaska now plans to join AA in the oneworld alliance.

So in under a year, American Airlines has completely changed its tune toward partnerships with other domestic carriers. There wasn’t a lot left of its alliance with Alaska Airlines when, on February 12, 2020, we learned the two carriers were forming a West Coast alliance and were once again friends. Five months later, American and jetBlue have announced that they’ll work together, as well, proving that domestic partnerships are part of AA’s long-term strategy.

AA’s International Strategy

There appears to be a clear strategy at play. Both announcements — first with Alaska, and now jetBlue — have stressed new international markets to be fed by these new alliances.

On the West Coast, American will launch new international services from Seattle (SEA), including the first non-stop between SEA and Bangalore, India (BLR). The Bangalore service was supposed to launch in October, but Covid-19 has changed all that. Current plans call for SEA-BLR to launch in 2021. American also plans a brand-new Seattle to London-Heathrow (LHR) service. And its Shanghai (SVG) service will no longer originate in Los Angeles (LAX), flying instead from SEA pending government approval.

In New York City, American Airlines will launch two new routes from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK): to Athens, Greece (ATH) and to Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV). In addition, the airline will bring back its non-stop service from JFK to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) — a service that had been suspended due to the coronavirus.

JetBlue’s Expanding Network

Meanwhile, jetBlue will get even bigger in New York City. The carrier plans to expand at its JFK hub, with more flights to seamlessly connect with AA’s international services, and its own. JetBlue announced plans to launch its own service to London in 2021. But while those plans are delayed, they are still on the table.

JetBlue further plans to add flights at New York’s other two major airports: LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR). And they’ve announced “enhanced service to strategic markets, including those on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Southeast.”

Going back a couple of weeks, JetBlue announced they will close their Long Beach (LGB) operation in favor of LAX. That move makes even more sense in light of this new alliance. American is the largest carrier at LAX and operates a not insignificant number of international routes from there.

So American Airlines will rely on its partners to feed its international route network. Alaska and jetBlue are major players at SEA and JFK, respectively; and both are growing at LAX. (Alaska recently announced 12 new destinations from LAX, putting the total number at 35).

These large domestic route networks will complement AA’s international services from those airports. American can focus on its international routes and its premium domestic routes. The carrier appears content to let other airlines take up the slack domestically.

AAdvantage Now a Better Program

American’s alliances with Alaska and soon jetBlue should make some frequent flyers take another look at American’s AAdvantage program. American AAdvantage members can already earn and burn miles on two domestic airlines (AA, Alaska). Once the jetBlue partnership is finalized, that makes three.

I don’t really like American’s revenue-based mileage earning, where the money you spend determines the number of frequent flyer miles you earn. Alaska’s Mileage Plan, where a mile flown is a mile earned, represents a much better value and works better for me.

But once two airlines are partners, with reciprocal elite benefits, there isn’t much reason to earn status with both. The best advice is to earn miles and status with just one of those airlines. Pick the program that works best for you and stick with it. Again, we don’t know how jetBlue and American will treat each other’s loyalty program members. And it’s worth noting that jetBlue is NOT joining oneworld, with its reciprocal elite benefits. But American may soon be able to offer elite benefits on three domestic airlines, as well as its international oneworld partners. That’s a strong edge for the AAdvantage program.

Final Thoughts

American Airlines and jetBlue will soon have a new partnership, and it appears to be good news for the two airlines and their customers. All airlines are struggling in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, but this new alliance should help both airlines recover faster.

The codeshare arrangement will give jetBlue frequent flyers access to 60 AA routes, while AA’s frequent flyers will get access to 130 jetBlue routes. We can expect the two airlines to allow their loyalty customers to earn and burn miles across both networks. And of course, seamless connections between carriers are always a good thing.

There’s still a lot to learn about this new partnership. But with all airlines getting smaller in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, American and jetBlue can utilize the strengths of the other to survive, and eventually thrive.