US DoJ files antitrust lawsuit against Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue

US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed (21-Sep-2021) an antitrust lawsuit against the 'Northeast Alliance' strategic partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, joined by Attorneys General from Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Under the partnership, the two airlines codeshare and align schedules on services operating at New York John F Kennedy International Airport, New York LaGuardia Airport, New York Newark Liberty International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport. US Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A Powers stated: "This sweeping partnership is unprecedented among domestic airlines and amounts to a de facto merger between American and JetBlue in Boston and New York City". The DoJ noted under the agreement the two airlines will also share revenues earned at these airports, eliminating their incentives to compete with one another and resulting in "hundreds of millions of dollars in harm to air passengers across the country through higher fares and reduced choice". The DoJ further stated: "The Northeast Alliance will dampen American's incentive to expand service elsewhere in its network and will significantly reduce JetBlue's incentives to challenge its much larger partner across the country". [more - original PR]