American Airlines Sues JetBlue as Partnership Talks Collapse

It's no secret that JetBlue is on the hunt for a new partnership — one potential suitor that we can now firmly rule out is American Airlines.

Fresh partnership talks between American Airlines and JetBlue have collapsed, with the companies now heading for the courts.

American filed a lawsuit against JetBlue on Monday with a business court in Texas. The carrier said it is seeking over $1 million in damages for the loss of the Northeast Alliance, according to a court filing.

In the lawsuit, American argues that JetBlue had refused to pay its final invoice per a revenue sharing agreement between the two companies. American said in the filing that those payments were due in January 2024.

In May 2023, a federal district court judge struck down the deal on the grounds that it was anticompetitive. The NEA saw the carriers work together to better compete against United Airlines and Delta Air Lines in the all-important New York and Boston markets.

American had sought to overturn the district court's decision, bringing the case all the way up to the Supreme Court. However, JetBlue had not joined American in these efforts.

On Monday evening, American took the unusual step of sharing in full a letter f