JetBlue and Emirates Set to End Codeshare Relationship in October

After a 10-year run, JetBlue and Emirates are terminating their codeshare agreement as of October 30, 2022.

Let’s take a look at what this means for flyers going forward, and the changing relationship between Emirates and the major U.S. airlines.

JetBlue and Emirates Ending Partnership

At the end of October, JetBlue and Emirates will no longer be partners. It’s widely believed this move comes in response to reports that Emirates has found a new U.S. airline partner — United Airlines. Those 2 carriers are hosting a joint event in Washington, D.C. on September 14, 2022, where they’re expected to formally announce their new relationship.

The decade-long partnership has been a boon for JetBlue in particular, as it provided a loophole for U.S. government employees to fly Emirates. They’re typically only allowed to book tickets on U.S. carriers, but the ability to book itineraries with segments flown by Emirates — all with a JetBlue ticket number — provided a way around this restriction.

What This Means for Flyers

As of October 30, travelers will no longer be able to book JetBlue itineraries with Emirates-operated flights through any of JetBlue’s platforms.

Any existing reservations made that have a combination of JetBlue and Emirates flights will not be affected in terms of operations, but as of October 30, JetBlue TrueBlue members will no longer earn TrueBlue points on any Emirates-operated flights.

Emirates Skywards members can continue to earn Skywards miles on JetBlue-operated flights through October 29, 2022.

While we don’t have all the details of the upcoming Emirates-United partnership, it could be a win for travelers. United has a far more robust domestic and international network than JetBlue, providing many more possible itineraries and ways to earn and redeem miles.

Of course, we’ll have to wait for the full details of the upcoming partnership, but we could see a future in which you could use United MileagePlus miles to book Emirates’ vaunted first class product.

Hot Tip: To learn more about Emirates Skywards, read our complete guide to the program!

Final Thoughts

It seems like Emirates is clearing the way for its new partnership with United to begin by ending the current codeshare relationship it has with JetBlue. And while travelers don’t need to worry about any interruptions to existing travel plans, members of both the TrueBlue program and the Skywards program should be aware that as of October 30, 2022, reciprocal earning and redeeming benefits will end for good.

All eyes are now on the September 14 event to see what the future looks like for Emirates and United!