JetBlue starts unwinding Northeast Alliance network with 5 route changes
The Northeast Alliance will soon be history, and with that, JetBlue is making some notable changes to its route network.
The New York-based carrier filed plans over the weekend to end service between LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) in Georgia as of Oct. 28, Cirium schedules show.
Furthermore, JetBlue will slash a daily flight between LGA and both Charleston International Airport (CHS) in South Carolina and Nashville International Airport (BNA). Under the Northeast Alliance, the airline was planning to operate two daily flights in both markets, but without the tie-up with American Airlines, JetBlue can seemingly no longer make these routes work with increased frequencies.
Finally, the airline will cut up to four daily frequencies between New York and Boston beginning in November.
JetBlue confirmed the network adjustments with TPG but declined to provide a statement.
All four of these LaGuardia markets were originally introduced or expanded as part of the Northeast Alliance, which launched in early 2021 as a way for the two carriers to boost their relevance in New York and Boston — two key Northeast cities that are difficult for either airline to provide service to on their own against entrenched rivals, the two carriers claimed.
So instead of competing with each other, American and JetBlue used the Northeast Alliance to coordinate schedules in the Northeast, launch a slew of new domestic and international routes, offer codesharing and loyalty perks and more.
Since the airlines could coordinate networks in the Northeast, American and JetBlue together decided to boost service in existing markets, add new long-haul routes and adjust schedules to offer a more comprehensive timetable for travelers based in Boston and New York. In fact, the two carriers even traded slots (essentially takeoff and landing permissions) in capacity-constrained airports in order to optimize their combined network.
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But now, the Northeast Alliance is being disbanded following a successful Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit. American plans to appeal the judge's ruling, but both carriers have already started to wind down the alliance. Codeshare flights are no longer available for sale, and reciprocal mileage earnings and redemptions are being phased out.
American has already started rejiggering its network for a post-Northeast Alliance world. This includes switching the New York-to-Doha flight to Philadelphia and restarting service between LaGuardia and Boston, a key domestic shuttle route that American handed over to JetBlue last year.
JetBlue hasn't done much network tweaking yet, but the airline likely needs to return slots that it borrowed from American before the start of the airline's winter season.
It's possible that this latest round of adjustments is directly in response to these slot trades, but either way, this likely won't be the last route cut that JetBlue will make in connection with the defunct Northeast Alliance.
While the airline is primarily making cuts in New York, JetBlue will add a daily flight in the Boston-to-Chicago market. This is a route served by American (among others), and it's also one that appeals to business travelers.
To remain relevant in Boston, JetBlue seemingly reasons that it needs to offer more than one daily flight in a busy business market. If not, travelers could defect to larger airlines in the Northeast, such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
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