Inside the subsequent two months, JetBlue is predicted to announce its subsequent main airline partnership, executives stated this week.
Now, hypothesis is swirling over which airline that shall be — and what it is going to imply for frequent flyers.
Talking on the corporate’s first-quarter earnings name Tuesday, JetBlue President Marty St. George stated that the airline deliberate to announce its latest tie-up with one other main provider by the tip of the second quarter, which runs by way of the tip of June.
“I believe we’re getting very shut to creating an announcement,” St. George stated. “We’ve got made good progress on discussions.”
The airline in query, St. George stated, shall be a home U.S. provider that has an even bigger community than JetBlue.
Solely 5 match that class: the “Large Three” legacy U.S. carriers, together with Southwest Airways and Alaska Airways.
It isn’t Alaska, TPG confirmed.
It is also not American, JetBlue’s former Northeast Alliance associate, because the provider stated on Monday that talks between it and JetBlue about a revived partnership fell apart (and it is now suing JetBlue).
Including gasoline to the hypothesis: Reuters on Tuesday reported that JetBlue is, in truth, in talks with one other main provider, United Airways, citing sources accustomed to the reportedly ongoing negotiations. TPG has not independently verified that reporting, and each carriers have declined to touch upon the reported talks.
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Requested in regards to the studies, a JetBlue spokesperson deferred to commentary on this week’s earnings name.
As TPG reported on Tuesday, throughout that decision, JetBlue leaders stated that they hoped a brand new airline partnership would open up new locations for vacationers hoping to earn and redeem JetBlue TrueBlue factors. The thought: to basically broaden the community of an airline that bases a good portion of its operation on the East Coast.
“Only a type of higher alternative for our prospects to fly extra locations with extra frequency,” St. George stated.
For months, JetBlue has publicly acknowledged that it hopes to discover a new airline associate that will largely fill a void created in 2023 when a federal decide ordered the end of its NEA with American on antitrust grounds.
Final 12 months, JetBlue introduced a complete technique referred to as “JetForward” meant to return the airline to profitability. The plan included the airline’s new airport lounges set to open later this 12 months, its new domestic first-class seats and a partnership with one other airline.
However, in line with St. George, the deal JetBlue is now eyeing is larger than what the corporate had anticipated final 12 months.
“We do have a quantity in JetForward for partnerships,” he instructed analysts Tuesday whereas talking in regards to the potential monetary profit. “It’s a quantity that doesn’t assume a partnership of this dimension.”
For its half, JetBlue already has a handful of loyalty partnerships that enable TrueBlue members to earn and redeem factors with worldwide carriers, from Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways within the Center East to Singapore Airways in Asia. Final week, the provider announced a new loyalty deal with Japan Airways that rapidly offered JetBlue loyalists with new sweet-spot redemption opportunities on flights to Asia.