An American Airlines plane takes off near a parked JetBlue aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joe Raedle | beautiful pictures
A federal judge on Friday ordered American Airlines And Blue Airways Jets to end their partnership in the Northeast, a victory for the Justice Department after the Justice Department sued to rescind the union arguing that it was anticompetitive.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleges that the airlines’ union is actually a merger that could harm consumers by raising fares. The trial began a year later in Boston and ended in December.
Both airlines expressed disappointment with the decision and said they were considering next steps.
“That leaves the two aviation partners, each with a significant stake in the success of their joint and individual efforts, rather than fierce, powerful adversaries that regularly challenge each other on the ground.” competitive market,” US Judge Leo Sorokin said in his ruling. ruling.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines and New York-based JetBlue Airways argue they need the so-called Northeast Alliance to better compete with other major carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the US. congested airports in the region.
Whatever the benefits to Americans and JetBlue from becoming more powerful — in the northeast as a whole or in their general rivalry with Delta — those benefits arise from a ceiling agreement, Sorokin writes. naked is not competing with each other”. “Such a treaty is just a kind of ‘unreasonable trade restriction’ that the Sherman Act was designed to prevent.”
He ordered the airlines to end the partnership 30 days after the ruling. Carriers are likely to challenge this decision. A JetBlue spokesperson said the airline is studying the decision and assessing next steps.
“We are disappointed with this decision,” the spokesperson said. “We made it clear at the trial that Northeastern Alliance has been of great benefit to our customers. Through NEA, JetBlue has been able to grow significantly at limited northeast airports, delivering great value for money. cheap tickets and great service for more routes than before could have otherwise.”
“The Court’s legal analysis is clearly inaccurate and unprecedented for a joint venture like Northeastern Alliance,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. “There is no evidence on record of any consumer harm from the partnership, and there is no legal basis to infer harm from the fact of the partnership.”
Canceling a partnership will be difficult, especially during the peak summer travel season when airlines are already sold out.
JetBlue and American are not allowed to coordinate fares under the partnership, which was approved in the final days of the Trump administration in 2021 and since. extend.
JetBlue previously warned in a securities filing against the NEA that “could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
“In addition, we are incurring costs associated with implementing the marketing and operational elements of the NEA, costs that would be irrecoverable if we were required to cancel all or part of the NEA. part of the NEA,” the company said.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separate parts in Steps are pay a antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue’s proposed acquisition of a budget carrier spirit airlineargued that the deal would increase fares, “most deeply damaging to cost-conscious airliners.”
That combination faces a high barrier to be approved by the Biden administration, which has vowed to take a hard line against what it sees as anticompetitive trading.
