American Airlines & JetBlue have announced the two airlines are joining forces in an new partnership. We’ll see new connectivity for customers in the Northeast, as the two airlines try to take on Delta Air Lines in New York City and Boston.

American Airlines plans to add service from New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv and Athens next summer, pending coronavirus conditions improve.

Highlights of the new partnership include:

• New and expanded routes: The partnership enables new strategic growth opportunities for both airlines. As a result, American will launch international service from New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv (TLV) and to Athens (ATH), and JFK to Rio De Janeiro (GIG) will return as a daily seasonal route in winter 2021, in addition to continuing to serve popular long-haul destinations like London (LHR) and Madrid (MAD).
• JetBlue will also accelerate its growth in key cities, bringing its award-winning service to more customers. JetBlue will grow in greater New York City, adding flights at LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR), while also increasing its presence at JFK for seamless connections to American’s expanded international network. JetBlue plans to enhance service to strategic markets on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Southeast, building on JetBlue’s recently announced service between EWR and nine markets, including Mint service to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO).
• More choice and loyalty benefits: Through their integrated networks, JetBlue and American will operate reciprocal codeshare flights, giving customers new options with improved schedules, competitive fares and nonstop access to more domestic and international destinations. JetBlue will gain connectivity to more U.S. destinations, a broad global network and an improved frequent flyer proposition, while American will complement JetBlue’s improved and expanded service with new international routes. JetBlue and American loyalty members will also enjoy new benefits while the carriers are exploring additional premium experiences for customers.
• Seamless experience: Customers will enjoy a seamless experience across both airlines, including the ability to book a single itinerary on either website, convenient connections and an improved on-the-ground experience — resulting in a compelling proposition for both leisure and corporate customers. Additionally, customers seeking more comfort in transcontinental service will have access to both JetBlue’s Mint and American’s three-class Transcon service.

Bottom Line

It’s exciting to see a new partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways form, but the current timing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t help either airline. It’s great to talk about adding new routes next summer to Europe, however it’s important to be realistic as well, and unfortunately it seems unlikely that new European routes will be a success.

One added benefit we will likely see is elite reciprocal benefits on the airlines whether it’s preferred seating, free checked bags, or elite qualification earning miles, more details to come on how elite members will benefit.

American Airlines currently can’t compete with Delta Air Lines in New York City due to its smaller network, so this new partnership plays into more connectively in NYC, which American is banking will help them compete with Delta.

Well this may of worked last year, changes in travel are happening due to coronavirus, so it’s unclear the speed at which international business travel will resume.

What are your thoughts on American and JetBlue’s newly formed partnership? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.