AA and JetBlue to work together

[Guest]

AIRLINES

JetBlue and American will share passengers in bid to fend off United and Delta

PUBLISHED THU, JUL 16 20208:30 AM EDTUPDATED 8 MIN AGO

 

Leslie Josephs@LESLIEJOSEPHS

 

 

 

 

KEY POINTS

• The partnership will allow the airlines to sell seats each other’s planes and earn and burn frequent flyer miles.
• Executives say it’s an effort to capture more travelers in New York and Boston.
• American formed a similar partnership with Alaska Air earlier this year.

 

 

A JetBlue Airways Embraer 190 passenger jet taxis on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Robert Alexander | Getty Images

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are teaming up — again.

The airlines, which ended a similar partnership in 2014, on Thursday unveiled a new alliance that will allow them to sell seats on each other’s planes, giving them more market share in the New York area, JetBlue’s home, and Boston, a longtime battleground among carriers. That could give them a better shot at fending off competitors like rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Travelers can also earn and burn frequent flyer miles with flights on either carrier.

“JetBlue has always had great, great brand strength in New York and Boston, which American for years, we struggled to be relevant in those two markets,” Vasu Raja, chief revenue officer of Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, told CNBC. “By contrast, American has immense relevance for customers across the Midwest, the Southeast ... and even a big global reach too.” 

 

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The airlines discussed the partnership, which is subject to regulator review, before the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to billions in losses and threatened tens of thousands of jobs across the industry, said Scott Laurence, JetBlue’s head of revenue and planning. He said, however, they expect the deal to speed up their recovery.

It it wasn’t immediately clear how many passengers or revenue could be gained from the deal. Laurence said New York and Boston make up about two-thirds of the New York airline’s network.

In addition to its big hubs in Dallas/Fort Worth, Charlotte, North Carolina and and Chicago, American operates a large hub in Philadelphia. JetBlue has an extensive network from New York and Boston, throughout the Caribbean and northern Latin America, and offers cross-country flights featuring its Mint business-class. JetBlue is still planning to launch service to London from the East Coast next year.

American said it will grow its international network to include service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv, Athens and Rio de Janeiro.

In a turf war on the other side of the country, American and Seattle-based Alaska Airlines expanded their partnership in February to include international flights to try to get more high-paying business travelers from companies like Amazon.

[dagger]

https://twitter.com/kylelarnold/status/1283861718796509207

 

APA not thrilled

 

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, dagger said:

https://twitter.com/kylelarnold/status/1283861718796509207

 

APA not thrilled

 

Can hardly blame them.  

Quote

American Airlines releases layoff numbers for pilots, flight attendants, and more

MORNING AFTER

by: Digital News Desk

Posted: Jul 16, 2020 / 01:44 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 16, 2020 / 01:44 PM CDT

 

FORT WORTH, Texas (KDAF) — After signaling that layoffs were imminent, Fort Worth-based American Airlines released numbers for the different roles that will be affected.

American Airlines says it would need to cut up to 9,950 flights attendants, 4,500 fleet service employees, 2,500 pilots, and thousands more in other sectors.

The airline is trying to get some employees to take early retirements and buyouts. Some of the furlough options are for up to 2 year