JetBlue Looks to Partner with British Airways

JetBlue and British Airways could soon codeshare on flights to 92 destinations under partnership proposals that would allow the U.S. carrier to extend its transatlantic reach without growing its fleet.

The two carriers filed an application with the U.S. Department for Transportation (DOT) last week, asking to place their flight numbers and sell seats on each other’s flights. They’re requesting expedited consideration and a waiver of the usual advance notice so they can begin marketing these flights “in the near future.”

Photo: British Airways 777-300ER. Courtesy of Nick Morrish/British Airways

If the airlines receive clearance from the DOT, British Airways will place its code on 39 JetBlue domestic routes operating out of New York (JFK) and 36 domestic routes departing from Boston (BOS).

Destinations include major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles (LAX), vacation hotspots Salt Lake City (SLC) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), and smaller leisure destinations Martha’s Vineyard (MVY) and Nantucket (ACK).

JetBlue will add its code to 17 BA flights from London Heathrow (LHR) to major European destinations, including Amsterdam (AMS), Budapest (BUD), Copenhagen (CPH), Munich (MUC), Oslo (OSL), Paris (CDG), Lisbon (LIS), Lyon (LYS), Warsaw (WAS), and Zurich (ZRH).

Photo: London Heathrow Airport. Courtesy of BAA Airports Limited.

Notably, the airlines won’t codeshare on any of their flights across the Pond. However, the deal would allow JetBlue to connect customers from its own transatlantic flights to more European destinations without the cost of running its own long-haul flights.

JetBlue has been growing its presence in Europe in recent years. In late 2021, the airline introduced flights to London from New York and Boston before adding services to Amsterdam, Dublin (DUB), and Paris over the next few years. Last week, the carrier landed its first flights in Edinburgh (EDI).

However, the struggling Long Island-based airline—which revealed a loss of $716 million in the first quarter of 2024 while rivals raked in cash—has more recently culled some of this transatlantic schedule. From the autumn, JetBlue will cease operating daily flights from JFK and Boston to London Gatwick (LGW), although it will continue to fly to Heathrow. JetBlue is also halving the frequency of its link between JFK and Paris, which will now run once daily.

Neither airline disclosed whether the partnership would extend to frequent flyer perks, such as reciprocal mileage earning and lounge access.

However, it’s clear that British Airways’ ties with JetBlue won’t be as close as its link with American Airlines: those British-American chums coordinate schedules and share revenue on flights across the Atlantic.

Photo: Courtesy of JetBlue Airways

But BA’s tete-a-tete with JetBlue could indicate that the “special relationship” has hit icy waters.

British Airways is reportedly unhappy that American is shifting away from the managed corporate travel market, which BA relies on to fill its spacious premium cabins on flights to the U.S. East Coast.

In turn, American Airlines is seething over BA’s recent status-matching offer for North American travelers, which it sees as BA going behind America’s back to win its own U.S. customers.

Meanwhile, JetBlue and American have their own history. Last year, a federal judge ordered the airlines to disband their Northeast Alliance, through which they coordinated schedules and traded takeoff and landing permissions at New York’s LaGuardia (LGA) airport.

Aligning itself with British Airways could suggest JetBlue is approaching a oneworld membership and potentially renewed links with American. In the decision to strike down the Northeast Alliance, the judge suggested a looser partnership between the airlines would be acceptable.

With JetBlue’s recent attempt to purchase Spirit Airlines also rejected, could it become bedfellows with American once again?