Higher Costs, Fewer Options, & Worse Service: Blumenthal Demands Information About Potential Impact of United & JetBlue Partnership on Consumers

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today wrote to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and JetBlue Airways CEO Joanna Geraghty raising concerns over any partnership, including the Blue Sky partnership announced between the two airlines, that would result in higher costs, fewer options, and worse service for consumers. In his letter, Blumenthal requested additional information about the Blue Sky partnership, including how the partnership could impact consumers’ experience in booking a trip or travelling with United or JetBlue.

“Given Blue Sky’s apparent restraints on certain aspects of competition between your airlines, JetBlue’s recent, failed attempts to form other partnerships, and the prospect that your airlines are contemplating merger or acquisition, I am extremely wary of any partnership that may harm full and fair airline competition and lead to fewer and more expensive options for travelers, particularly in the New York City area. I request that you provide additional information about this pact and potential future phases of collaboration,” Blumenthal wrote.

Blumenthal continued, “United and JetBlue’s partnership aligns your airlines’ businesses at a time when U.S. travelers face dwindling air travel options, raising a number of questions about Blue Sky’s impact on competition and the evolution of your airlines’ collaboration. As the court in the NEA case wrote, ‘The airline industry is an oligopoly that has become more concentrated due to a series of mergers in the first decades of the twenty-first century, with a small group of firms in control of the vast majority of the market.’”

Blumenthal underscored how reduced airline competition has already had a significant negative impact on the flying public, writing, “In fortress hubs like Newark, dominated by a single airline, travelers face fewer and more expensive options. Deceptive nickel-and-dime fees for everything from seat assignments to bags have spread to every major airline in part because industry consolidation leaves customers with no alternatives.  And common passenger complaints about airlines span a variety of deficiencies that have become normalized by a consolidated and complacent industry—from shrinking average seat sizes and reduced leg room to lost and damaged luggage to unsatisfactory treatment when unexpected delays and cancellations disrupt travel and more.”

“Although you have denied any plans to merge and explained that United and JetBlue will not code share flights or share revenue as part of Blue Sky, I remain ready to strongly oppose any collaboration that would result in higher costs, fewer options, and worse service for the traveling public,” Blumenthal concluded.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Mr. Kirby and Ms. Geraghty,

            On May 29, 2025, your airlines announced a plan to form a partnership called “Blue Sky” wherein United Airlines (United) and JetBlue Airways (JetBlue) will sell tickets on each others’ flights, exchange flight timings at two New York City area airports, offer benefits to each others’ frequent flyers, and collaborate in other ways.[1] Given Blue Sky’s apparent restraints on certain aspects of competition between your airlines, JetBlue’s recent, failed attempts to form other partnerships, and the prospect that your airlines are contemplating merger or acquisition, I am extremely wary of any partnership that may harm full and fair airline competition and lead to fewer and more expensive options for travelers, particularly in the New York City area. I request that you provide additional information about this pact and potential future phases of collaboration.

            Beyond reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, the public terms of the Blue Sky partnership include collaboration that draws your airlines closer together. Under the Blue Sky pact, United will reestablish its presence at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport by accessing seven of JetBlue’s JFK flight slots and JetBlue will gain eight of United’s flight timings at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.[2] JetBlue will also gain access to United’s larger frequent flier program and use United’s Kinective Media technology to sell customer-tailored inflight advertisements.[3] In turn, United will direct some of its travel bundling sales to JetBlue’s Paisly platform.[4]

            JetBlue’s recent, failed partnership attempts call into question how your airlines will ensure Blue Sky does not unlawfully restrain competition. In 2023, a federal court ruled that JetBlue and American Airlines’ Northeast Alliance (NEA) was unlawfully anticompetitive.[5] In 2024, JetBlue ceased its efforts to acquire Spirit Airlines after the Department of Justice fought and a federal court prohibited the proposed merger.[6] Several aspects of Blue Sky bear notable resemblance to JetBlue and American Airlines’ failed NEA.[7] Like the NEA, Blue Sky “provides for the pooling of both carriers’ ‘airport infrastructure’”[8] in the New York City area, extends “frequent flier reciprocity”[9] across both airlines, and gives both airlines “the ability to include each other’s flights in their corporate deals.”[10] Overall, as the court noted with respect to the NEA, Blue Sky similarly “makes [United and JetBlue] partners, each having a substantial interest in the success of their joint and individual efforts, instead of vigorous, arms-length rivals regularly challenging each other in the marketplace of competition.”[11] Full and fair competition would likewise suffer if the collaboration between United and JetBlue advances to the point of merger, as several reports note is likely.[12]

United and JetBlue’s partnership aligns your airlines’ businesses at a time when U.S. travelers face dwindling air travel options, raising a number of questions about Blue Sky’s impact on competition and the evolution of your airlines’ collaboration. As the court in the NEA case wrote, “The airline industry is an oligopoly that has become more concentrated due to a series of mergers in the first decades of the twenty-first century, with a small group of firms in control of the vast majority of the market.”[13] Reduced airline competition has a significant negative impact on the flying public.[14] For example, in fortress hubs like Newark, dominated by a single airline, travelers face fewer and more expensive options.[15] Deceptive nickel-and-dime fees for everything from seat assignments to bags have spread to every major airline in part because industry consolidation leaves customers with no alternatives.[16] And common passenger complaints about airlines span a variety of deficiencies that have become normalized by a consolidated and complacent industry—from shrinking average seat sizes and reduced leg room to lost and damaged luggage to unsatisfactory treatment when unexpected delays and cancellations disrupt travel and more.[17]

            Although you have denied any plans to merge and explained that United and JetBlue will not code share flights or share revenue as part of Blue Sky, I remain ready to strongly oppose any collaboration that would result in higher costs, fewer options, and worse service for the traveling public. To help me understand the current and future nature of your partnership, please provide me with a written response by no later than August 1, 2025, that includes: (1) any contract or agreement between United and JetBlue executed as part of the Blue Sky partnership; (2) a detailed explanation of all specific changes to consumers’ experience in booking a trip or travelling with United or JetBlue; and (3) a detailed description of all future phases of the pact, including those still under consideration.

            Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

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