JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) said Wednesday that it will end its partnership in the northeastern U.S. with American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) after a federal judge ordered the carriers to end the agreement, as the New York airline focuses on its acquisition of Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) instead.
American said in June that it would challenge the ruling against the JetBlue partnership — called the Northeast Alliance, or NEA — but New York-based JetBlue said Wednesday it would not appeal the decision. That ruling was the result of a 2021 lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, six states and the District of Columbia to block the alliance, calling it anticompetitive.
JetBlue said it has started terminating the agreement, “a wind down process that will take place over the coming months.” JetBlue said it will “now turn even more focus to our proposed combination with Spirit.”
JetBlue’s deal to buy Spirit came together after JetBlue and American launched the Northeast partnership. The NEA, approved during the last days of the Trump administration, allows the two carriers to share passengers and revenue and to coordinate schedules. American and JetBlue said they needed the deal to better compete against big carriers such as United (NYSE:UAL) and Delta (NYSE:DAL) in congested airports in the New York area and in Boston.
Shares in JBLU slid 34 cents, or 3.6%, to $8.99, while those for AAL fell 40 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.92.
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