Spirit Hits Back Against JetBlue-United Alliance: What It Means for Travelers

JetBlue continues to find itself in sticky situations with the nation’s other airlines.

After the New York-based airline was forced to scrap its former partnership with American Airlines — known as the Northeast Alliance — the carrier returned to the drawing board in an attempt to gain a stronger foothold in the competitive U.S. airline industry.

Its latest foray into a partnership is with United Airlines, with the 2 carriers inking a deal to form the so-called Blue Sky alliance. However, Blue Sky faces headwinds before it gets off the ground, with another carrier pushing back against the new relationship.

Let’s take a look at the latest.

Spirit Continues To Push Back Against Blue Sky

Low-cost Spirit Airlines, which had its own attempt at a merger with JetBlue blocked by the Department of Transportation (DOT) under the Biden administration, continues to push back against the tie-up between JetBlue and United.

This isn’t the first time there’s been noise surrounding the new Blue Sky partnership. The hopeful partners, JetBlue and United, say this arrangement would introduce reciprocal loyalty benefits between the carriers, initiate an interline agreement, and provide slot swaps at 2 of the nation’s most important airports: Newark (EWR) and New York-Kennedy (JFK).

Under the agreement, JetBlue would receive more slots at Newark while United would return to JFK (again), with up to 7 round-trip flights per day as of 2027.

After JetBlue and United initially announced Blue Sky at the end of May, Spirit was quick to file a complaint with the DOT in late June, calling the proposed partnership uncompetitive in nature and asking the DOT to extend the review period of the agreement by 60 days and to make the agreement public information.

Then, earlier this month, the members of Blue Sky hit back, saying Spirit’s claims had no merit.

“The collaboration will enable each airline to offer its customers access to hundreds of new flights and destinations, all with the opportunity to ‘earn and burn’ miles on the other’s network. Significantly, Blue Sky will accomplish this without sacrificing any competition between the airlines. JetBlue and United will continue to compete as they do today.”

JetBlue and United in a DOT filing

This week, Spirit launched the latest volley in the ongoing back-and-forth between the carriers, saying essentially that JetBlue and United downplayed the uncompetitive aspects of their partnership and asking the DOT to look at the partnership in the same context as it has viewed similar proposals in the last several years.

“The Department has consistently invited outside input on precisely the kinds of airline joint ventures at issue here. Doing so is necessary to give the public an opportunity to both review the agreements and provide valuable public comment for the Department’s consideration,” said Spirit Airlines.

The main thrust of Spirit’s argument echoes one it’s made before: that the large legacy carriers control the market thanks to their enormous size and a healthy stream of revenue from expensive business travel, allowing them to more or less offset the losses they may incur from selling less-expensive domestic economy tickets.

Further, Spirit claims that — by nature of their respective sizes — United will be the shot-caller in the Blue Sky relationship, which Spirit claims will “result in higher fares and reduced competition,” especially on routes where the 2 carriers are technically competing against one another.

JetBlue and United, meanwhile, say that they will remain competitors and that the arrangement will be a net-positive for flyers because it will allow for more flight options, stronger loyalty benefits, and United’s return to JFK, where it has tried unsuccessfully in recent years to resume operations.

What Does This All Mean?

It’s hard to speculate on the mood of the DOT and the claims of each party involved.

However, we have a recent precedent that we can look to for ideas: the ill-fated Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue. In 2023, a U.S. District judge ruled that the partnership violated antitrust laws after the U.S. Department of Justice sued the carriers, resulting in the dissolution of the short-lived partnership.

The judge ruled that the tie-up reduced competition and resulted in fewer choices for passengers, especially in the Boston and New York markets.

However, these decisions came under the former administration in Washington, which was particularly skeptical of mega-mergers and blockbuster partnerships between the nation’s airlines. The Departments of Justice and Transportation could have a different view on these matters under the current administration, though we won’t know for sure until official rulings are made.

Of course, one can’t overlook the fact that Spirit was involved in an ill-fated merger of its own, with none other than JetBlue. That proposed merger was also struck down during the Biden administration, perhaps indicating that Spirit hopes the same precedent that doomed its merger plans and the Northeast Alliance could sink the Blue Sky partnership.

JetBlue and United aren’t proposing a merger, per se. Still, it’s generally agreed upon that consolidation of any kind in the U.S. airline industry has resulted, over time, in fewer truly competitive carriers, which has largely led to fewer choices and higher fares for passengers.

At least one U.S. senator agrees. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter in which he agreed with the sentiment that the Blue Sky partnership “could harm competition and lead to fewer and more expensive options for consumers,” according to reporting from Reuters.

As it stands right now, travelers should prepare as if the partnership were happening without issue, as the DOT has yet to make any official decisions on the matter. However, it doesn’t look like the drama will stop any time soon, so it’s prudent for anyone excited for Blue Sky to be prepared for an about-face. It remains entirely possible that the partnership won’t be allowed to proceed.

Final Thoughts

Airline mergers and partnerships have been a messy business in recent years. Spirit and JetBlue seem to have been at the center of the drama in one way or another.

Clearly, the latest partnership proposal — one between JetBlue and United — hasn’t escaped the status quo. Spirit has opened a new front in the ongoing battle, which means the saga will continue for some time.

Until we hear anything official, we’ll continue to monitor this situation closely and will provide further updates as the drama unfolds.