Government protecting consumers from predatory companies is much different than Government propping up weak businesses by making it harder for companies that are working to be successful. Here are some profit margins of companies in the US for comparison:

NVIDIA: 53.4%
Visa: 55%
Mastercard: 45%
Microsoft 37%
Meta 38%
Apple 26%
Alphabet 30%
Delta Airlines 5.6%
United Airlines 5.5%

United only has a 16% market share in the US for Domestic travel. Its ridiculous that a 16% market share company in any industry with a sub 6% profit margin is somehow exhibiting "monopolistic forces" just because most of its competitors are losing money. The Spirit complaint is ridiculous (15 pages and laughable) includes the phrase "the tooth fairy" and is mostly based on not what was proposed, but more of a conspiracy theory that behind the scenes there is coordination and money being exchanged etc. Its a joke and I can't see how the DOT would care or why Spirit management is even wasting time with this instead of trying to figure out how to recover from a 44% increase in CASM since 2019 while only have 1% more RASM over the same time frame.

 

Imagine you are a Trueblue award traveler and you need to fly to Boise, Memphis, Pensacola, St Louis, San Antonio, Minneapolis, or one of about 30 cities Jetblue does not fly to that Spirit does. Currently there is no advantage of flying to those cities on United, other than if you want a premium seat and would likely fly on Spirit because of the lower fare.

Now imagine that instead of even looking to see if Spirit, Delta, American, Frontier, etc flies there, you just check the Jetblue app and see that you can get a flight on United either direct or 1 connection and continue to not only build status and perks on Jetblue but also now United. Miles and benefits that can get you free trips to Europe, Hawaii, Asia etc. So instead of buying tickets on Delta to Rome, you fly on United out of EWR because you have status now that you didn't have before.

You are now far less likely to even look at another carrier, and instead stay inside the partnership because it benefits you the consumer. It also benefits United and Jetblue frequent fliers.

There is no need for secret revenue sharing as Spirit claims.
There is no need for back door coordination of flights as Spirit claims.
There is no need for illegal coordination of pricing as Spirit claims.
None of these are needed for this to be successful, despite the claim that you would have to "believe in the tooth fairy to not believe its happening"

All you need is a decent percentage of Jetblue and United flyers to forego flying on other airlines and instead look first at solely flying on JB/UA. Anyone you get is more money for you and less for your competitor.

No messy merger. No added debt. No integration of tech. No messy employee integration. Just added marginal revenue.

What's really brilliant is that there is a high likelyhood that the size of the partnership may make it feasible that some people that maybe fly out of BOS or NYC on Delta or American might realize that its far better to just start accumulating points on UA/JB since its the biggest total network of places to fly.

I think its a freaking great idea and not because United gets a few JFK gates, but because its going to be great for Jetblue and United revenues. I think its so good, that neither one will want or need to merge.

Obviously Spirit management is smart enough to see this potential effect too, which is why they are trying to hard to kill it.

Because Jetblue hasn't made money since 2019 there is little chance any Government agency, especially one under Trump, is going to kill this deal or force it to be weakened in any way. I don't think this Administration wants to interfere with businesses that are working together in a transparent way that benefits consumers as much as this one does.

 

If you can buy a UAL operated flight on the JB App, that is a domestic/international codeshare, plain and simple.

Pretty sure the UAL contract will not allow domestic codeshare without UA APLA approval. Not sure about the JB contract.

 

The sharing of rewards between the two companies is a benefit to the passengers, not the airlines. This is not a code share or revenue sharing deal. If a JB Mosaic buys a ticket that has United iron on the itinerary, United gets the revenue for that portion of the trip. So this isn't about increasing revenue for JB other than the transfer of United's vacation packages to Paisley. Even that was discussed by the company saying while it will increase revenue for JB it won't make a large difference in terms of turning the company around.

 

The UA code does not appear on any JB operated flights. Expedia, Kayak, Priceline, etc would be considered codeshares under your definition.

 

Sounds like you don’t know the difference between an interline agreement and a codeshare.

 

You can buy a UA ticket on the Hotwire or Travelocity apps too. Buying an airline ticket on another airline app isn't a "codeshare". There is nothing for UALPA of JBALPA to approve here.

I'm "pretty sure" your "pretty sure" is "completely wrong".

 

This is taken from the press release from Jetblue and United. It seems like a LOT more than just booking some vacation packages. Spirit would not care at all about that if that's all it was about. Looks here like they are trying to keep people on JB/UA.


United’s MileagePlus customers can earn and use miles on most JetBlue flights. JetBlue offers 90 daily flights between the Northeast and the Caribbean this summer – with regular nonstop direct flights to popular islands like Aruba, Barbados, and Jamaica. JetBlue’s TrueBlue members can earn and use points for flights on United’s extensive domestic and international network, the largest across the Atlantic and Pacific that includes popular destinations like Cape Town and Tahiti.

Each airline will offer flights on one another’s website and app to make booking across the two airlines’ complementary networks simple and easy. Blue Sky includes an interline agreement, not a codeshare, meaning each airline will continue to publish and market flights independently under its own brand and flight numbers.

The benefits of each airline’s loyalty program - priority boarding, complimentary access to preferred and extra legroom seats and same-day standby/switch - will be available when customers travel on the other airline’s aircraft.

As part of the airlines’ agreement, JetBlue will provide United access to slots at JFK International Airport for up to seven daily round-trip flights out of JFK Terminal 6 to begin as early as 2027. And, as part of a net-neutral exchange, JetBlue and United will exchange eight flight timings at Newark.

 

Better tell Kirby that...

"The partnership between United Airlines and JetBlue, aims to boost revenue by leveraging customer loyalty and expanding flight options. The deal is expected to drive revenue growth for both airlines through increased bookings and loyalty program participation."

Increased booking...of flights...not vacation packages.

 

I think you're going to see more JB customers taking advantage of United's much broader network than the other way around. So while JB may benefit from some increased bookings, my guess is United is the bigger beneficiary of the rewards sharing than JB. Either way, JB will not get any revenue from customers flying on United flights, even if they're booked through the JB platform.