United Airlines Makes Partnership with JetBlue
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) has a new friend in Queens.
The airline plans to return to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport again, this time through a new partnership with JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU).
The partnership, called Blue Sky, will allow the airlines to sell seats on each other’s sites and let JetBlue customers earn frequent flyer miles on United and vice versa. It also includes reciprocal loyalty benefits like priority boarding and roomier seats for travelers with elite status. The deal is subject to regulatory review, they said.
Some aspects of the partnership, which the carriers announced Thursday, will begin as early as the fall, though the airlines didn’t provide exact timing. They also did not provide financial details of the deal.
JetBlue’s leaders have long said they need a partnership to better compete against larger airlines like United and their shared rival Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), the most profitable U.S. carrier.
United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters on Thursday that in addition to the JFK access, the airlines together will have the largest presence in Boston and that United will be able to extend its reach in Florida and the Caribbean, where JetBlue has a robust network. In turn, JetBlue loyalists will get access to United’s globe-spanning destinations.
Shares in UAL gained $2.12, or 2.7%. to $79.62, while those for JBLU docked five cents, or 1.3%, to $5.16.
