JetBlue CEO: ‘No' United Airlines merger

JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty on Monday denied speculation that the carrier was in merger talks with United Airlines.

"No," she said when asked at the aviation trade group IATA's annual meeting in Delhi if JetBlue's new "Blue Sky" partnership with United was a first step towards bringing the two airlines together.

"We've spent a lot of time with the Department of Justice the past couple of years and we're playing it safe," she continued, referring to JetBlue's blocked merger with Spirit Airlines and the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines a court found violated antitrust law.

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Geraghty's comments came barely four days after JetBlue and United unveiled the Blue Sky pact. The tie-up centers on linking the carriers' respective loyalty programs, TrueBlue and MileagePlus, with reciprocal mileage accrual and redemption, and limited elite benefits beginning later this year.

Blue Sky will also see United return to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 2027, with seven flights provided by JetBlue in swap for eight runway timings at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). And, United will sell some ancillary travel products, like hotels and rental cars, over JetBlue's Paisly platform.

The pact came after months of speculation over JetBlue's future. The carrier was publicly searching for a new partner to replace American as part of its comprehensive transformation program, JetForward. The focus, as JetBlue President Marty St. George put it in April, was to find a carrier that could take TrueBlue members to places like "Omaha and Boise."

Any chance of a renewed tie-up with American ended the same month when the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier sued JetBlue for costs related to the end of their previous alliance. Speculation then focused on United after the Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra reported that the airlines were in talks over a wide-ranging deal and possible merger.

Blue Sky, Geraghty said Monday, is a "collaboration" between JetBlue and United. A collaboration, she added, is "basically a synonym for cooperation."

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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, speaking Sunday at the IATA event, was unimpressed with the JetBlue-United pact. "It was kind of interesting," he said.

"This is the real deal," he added, comparing Delta's new tie-up across the Atlantic with Indian carrier IndiGo to the JetBlue-United pact.

Delta and JetBlue are fierce competitors in both Boston and New York. The addition of JetBlue's flights to United's much larger MIleagePlus loyalty program could pose a greater threat to the Atlanta-based carrier than the smaller airline alone.

"We welcome competition," Bastian said.

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