Robert Besser
08 Mar 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.: American Airlines has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's decision that ruled its now-ended partnership with JetBlue Airways violated antitrust laws.

In a petition made public this week, the Texas-based airline asked the Supreme Court to review a November ruling by a federal appeals court in Boston. That ruling upheld a judge's decision to block the "Northeast Alliance," which allowed American and JetBlue to coordinate flights and share revenue in New York and Boston.

American Airlines argued that the partnership increased competition and gave customers more travel options. It warned that the court's decision could disrupt similar airline collaborations in the future.

The Justice Department, which sued to block the deal in 2021 under President Joe Biden, said the alliance hurt consumers by reducing competition and discouraging American Airlines from lowering prices to compete with JetBlue.

A judge ruled against the alliance in May 2023, and JetBlue later withdrew from the deal. American Airlines, however, continued its appeal, arguing that the ruling could block it from making similar agreements in the future.

The Justice Department, now under President Donald Trump, has not commented on the case. Jet Blue, which services North and South America, and Europe with around 30,000 flights a month has its base at Long Island City, in Queens, in New York City. American Airlines, headquartered in the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex in Texas, operates over 200,000 flights a month, and services 350 destinations in forty-eight countries.