In a significant blow to American Airlines, the U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday it will not hear the carrier’s appeal over its Northeast Alliance with JetBlue Airways. The decision puts a definitive end to a partnership that American once considered vital to competing in the Northeast United States.

Supreme Court Kills American Airlines’ Northeast Alliance With JetBlue

The Northeast Alliance (NEA), launched in 2021, allowed American and JetBlue to coordinate flights and schedules out of Boston and New York City area airports. It was pitched as a way for the two carriers to better compete against United and Delta in two of the country’s most congested air markets. But the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) disagreed, calling the partnership anti-competitive and a “de facto merger.” A federal judge sided with the DOJ in May 2023, and JetBlue dropped out of the agreement shortly after. American pressed on alone with its appeal, first to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and later to the Supreme Court, which on Monday denied certiorari (meaning it refused to hear the case). Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated he would have taken up the case.

By declining to hear the case, the Supreme Court has left the lower court ruling intact. That means the alliance must remain dismantled. In a statement following the ruling, American Airlines said it was “disappointed” but would comply, while continuing to focus on its own strength in the region.

JetBlue, for its part, has largely moved on. After exiting the NEA, it pivoted to focus on its proposed merger with Spirit Airlines, another legal battle that ended in defeat. JetBlue ultimately abandoned the merger earlier this year after a judge blocked it on antitrust grounds as well and has recently announced a partnership with United Airlines.

The case was American Airlines Group v. United States, 24-938.

CONCLUSION

The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case ends the matter decisively: the Northeast Alliance is dead. For American Airlines, this is a strategic setback. The NEA was its workaround to a shrinking New York footprint and an increasingly competitive landscape. Without it, American must now rely on its own underwhelming domestic strength in the Northeast, while JetBlue regroups after failed partnerships on two fronts.

Should the SCOTUS have taken up this case and reinstated the Northeast Alliance? Does the fact that the Trump Justice Department continued to defend the government’s victory in defeating the Northeast Alliance suggest it may not be as merger-friendly as some may think?