United Airlines and JetBlue have officially announced a new partnership called Blue Sky, confirming months of speculation. The collaboration will focus on New York, with JetBlue giving up slots at New York JFK to United Airlines in exchange for flight timings at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Blue Sky partnership offers benefits for members of both airlines’ loyalty programs, MileagePlus and TrueBlue. These include the ability to earn and use miles on either network and an interline agreement, though not a codeshare like the previous Northeast Alliance (NEA) between American Airlines and JetBlue. JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty believes this partnership will provide more choices for travelers, as United’s global reach complements JetBlue’s East Coast network.
United CEO Scott Kirby also emphasizes the customer-focused approach of this partnership, stating that it will provide more value and benefits for MileagePlus members. Unlike the NEA, which was dismantled due to concerns about a lack of competition in Boston and New York, Blue Sky will not involve cooperative management of pricing and networks. However, both airlines may extend corporate program benefits to flights operated by the other.
As part of the partnership, JetBlue will give United up to seven daily round-trip flights out of New York JFK, while United will provide JetBlue with eight flight timings at Newark Liberty International. United plans to begin operating flights out of JFK by early 2027. Since the NEA ended, JetBlue has been exploring potential partnerships and has been in talks with several airlines. Rumors of a merger between JetBlue and United were denied by the latter, though the partnership does involve some technological collaboration.
United will move its United Hotels, United Cars, United Cruises, and United Packages offerings onto a platform developed by JetBlue’s Paisly. In return, JetBlue will be the first partner airline to use United’s Kinective Media solution, which provides personalized and real-time advertising, content, experiences, and offers for passengers during their flight and at various touchpoints.