JetBlue Airways announced on Wednesday its plans to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for a partnership with British Airways. The proposed code-sharing agreement aims to enhance the airlines’ networks by including 75 destinations in the United States—39 from New York and 36 from Boston—and 17 cities in Europe.
Code-sharing agreements, which enable airlines to sell seats on each other’s flights, are commonly used to expand reach into new regions. This proposed partnership between JetBlue and British Airways follows JetBlue’s recent growth in Europe, where it has added flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Edinburgh. Despite this expansion, JetBlue remains smaller than the major trans-Atlantic alliances of American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
JetBlue stated, “We are always looking for new ways to offer our customers more choice when traveling,” in response to the agreement, initially reported by industry news site Paxex Aero.
If approved by the DOT, the agreement would allow customers to book seamless travel on both airlines with a single ticket, significantly broadening the available network of destinations across Europe and the U.S.
This move comes a year after a federal judge invalidated JetBlue’s partnership with American Airlines in the U.S. Northeast, which aimed to coordinate schedules and routes. American Airlines and British Airways have not yet commented on the proposed agreement. American’s existing joint venture with British Airways, established over a decade ago, involves deeper cooperation than a typical code-sharing arrangement.
