Two main US airlines are joining forces in a great success association. United Airlines will join Jetblue in a new alliance called “Blue Sky,” the carriers announced Thursday.
The alliance will include a complete loyalty association that will allow United mileageplus and Jetblue Trueblue Members the ability to win and exchange miles in any of the carriers. In addition, United Premier Elite members can enjoy their status benefits when they fly in Jetblue. The members of the Jetblue mosaic will receive the same treatment aboard United.
As part of the new agreement, United and Jetblue can also sell others’ flights on their own websites, including connections between the two carriers.
The link will also introduce United’s return to the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. in several years.
The revelation of this new Blue Sky association comes later weeks of speculation that United and Jetblue would join forces in a new association.
It will paste two airlines that have a considerable presence in the New York City region, but on the opposite sides of the Hudson River. United operates an important center at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey, while Jetblue calls terminal 5 in JFK its base of operations.
For Jetblue, this new association occurs almost two years after a federal judge effectively He finished his so -called Northeast Alliance with American Airlines after a long legal battle with the Biden administration in 2023.
“The Global Scope of United complements perfectly the leisure network of the east coast of Jetblue, and significantly expands the options and benefits for Trueblue members,” said Jetblue CEO, Joanna Geraghty, in a statement on Thursday.
“We are always looking for ways to give our members of Millageplus even more value and benefits and this collaboration gives them new and unique ways to use their miles won with so much effort and find options that fit their schedule,” added the CEO of United Scott Kirby.
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This is what I should know about the new United-Jetblue association, which means for the members of the loyalty of Milreaeplus and Trueblue, and why these two airlines ended up joining forces.
United and Jetblue ‘Blue Sky’ Association
For travelers who took advantage of the Northeast of Jetblue with American at the beginning of this decade, Blue Sky will offer some familiarity, but also some key differences.
Interlinean agreement
Once the Association begins, United and Jetblue will launch an interline agreement, selling the flights of others through their own websites and mobile applications. That means that you can reserve a United Flight on Jetblue.com (or vice versa), and connect to perfection in an itinerary between the two airlines.
The airlines did not immediately announce a launch date for this aspect of the association, but a United spokesman told TPG that some elements will begin at the beginning of this autumn.
Win and redeem
Through Blue Sky, Trueblue members of Jetblue can win and exchange points on the global United Network.
United Mileagesplus members will be able to win and exchange miles “on most Jetblue flights,” said the airline. Some will be excluded, TPG learned, but, in particular, Jetblue flights to Europe are expected to be part of the agreement. That was not the case with the now missing Nea between Jetblue and American.
Related: Jetblue launches Trueblue refunds on Japan Airlines to Tokyo flights and beyond
Reciprocal loyalty benefits
A key component for frequent brochures, United and Jetblue will offer a large number of elite status reciprocal benefits for members of Elite Premier and Mosaic.
It will not be the complete experience of the elite state (without mention of access to the room or first class updates, still) and some of the benefits are quite static at all levels of elite status.
For example, all elite members with any program, regardless of the status level, can access additional leg space seats in the other airline in check-in. That means that a first-level member (regardless of the level) could select a Jetblue seat even more in the check-in, and Mosaic members would obtain the same privileges with the economy plus the seats.
All elite members would also obtain benefits from priority check-in and address their first free recorded bag and access to changes the same day.
Here is the complete initial summary of the benefits of the reciprocal elite state that the operators shared on Thursday.
Operators are expected to announce more details about the time of this loyalty association at the end of this year.
United returns to JFK
As part of the agreement with Jetblue, United would launch up to seven daily round trips from JFK assuming control slot (Straight take -off and landing rights) by Jetblue. Some years have passed since United has had a presence in JFK, where he hopes to launch the service from the new terminal 6 of the airport already in 2027.
Meanwhile, Jetblue would exchange eight flight schedules with United at the EWR center of the last airline.
United changes to Getblue’s
Finally, in an aspect of Blue Sky, less accelerated from Blue Sky, United plans to change its hotel, car rental, cruises and vacation packages reserve services to the internal platform of Jetblue, Paisly.
A great industry association
This union of forces between United and Jetblue is significant for the frequent flyers of both carriers that will now obtain a new connectivity and ways to win and exchange miles in the cities where its favorite airline does not have such a strong presence.
Jetblue executives, in particular, said for months that they hoped to link with another US airline in a new association To expand income and redeem options -And connectivity, of what I could offer with its route network very focused on the east coast.
He explored to rekindle ties with American, but after those conversations It fell apart last monthJetblue, on the other hand, got United as his new dance partner.
United expands the options for frequent Jetblue flyers, with its force in the middle section of the country, where Jetblue does not fly so much. That includes the Center for the hometown of United at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago (Ord), as well as the main centers at the George Bush intercontinental airport in Houston (IAH) and Denver International Airport (DEN).
United also has perhaps the most robust international network of any US airline.
Jetblue, on the other hand, has a transatlantic network network, with non -stop destinations in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin and Edimburg, along with Madrid, which launched last week.
Until now, the association has not included advantages of loyalty related to Premium cabin updates. Part of that can come from an imbalance of premium inventory, at least from the beginning; The regional and narrow body planes of United have first -class cabins, and their long -distance aircraft have a business class economy and Polaris premium.
Related: United simply flew where he has not gone to the US airline.
Jetblue has its exclusive mint cabin, although only in a limited portion of its fleet. But its game is increasing, and the first national class is expected to join its fleet in the coming years, along with new halls scheduled for New York and Boston.
Jetblue finds his partner for a long time
Jetblue has spent a large part of this decade in search of a partner of a lasting American airline, but with little success.
After his Northeast Alliance with American failed in a federal court, another confrontation with the Biden administration condemned his proposed fusion with Spirit Airlines.
Some aspects of Blue Sky, said the airlines, would be subject to regulatory approval.
But the operators rushed to notice that they will not coordinate in prices or programming, something that the federal judge who blocked the former alliance of the Northeast said that he would have made Jetblue’s previous agreement with American with American was more acceptable.
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