JetBlue’s CEO told investors this week that the airline is on the verge of a new domestic partnership that will give it a bigger network and more opportunities for its True Blue loyalty members—but he only hinted at who the partner might be.
The airline, which once had a ‘Northeast Alliance’ deal with American Airlines that was broken up by a federal lawsuit, has been looking for ways to broaden its reach out of its East Coast-weighted network.
JetBlue president Marty St George told said, on an earnings call Tuesday that “The most important thing, number one, is a significantly higher network opportunity for earn and burn of TrueBlue points.”
St George did say that the partner airline would have a domestic network bigger than JetBlue’s. Only the three legacy carriers plus Alaska and Southwest fit that bill. Alaska says it’s concentrating on absorbing Hawaiian, and American this week broke off discussions with JetBlue and is suing instead over remaining issues from the NEA.
Most industry speculation is focusing on United, which might be particularly interested in obtaining some of JetBlue’s slots at New York JFK, one of JetBlue’s main bases.
