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In January, I wrote about rumors swirling that United Airlines might make a play to acquire JetBlue. This would grant United gates at New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), which it has wanted pretty much since it abandoned the airport in 2015, as well as a huge bump in its presence in both Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). United squashed those rumors at the time, but recent comments by CEO Scott Kirby is making many wonder if this could once again be possible.
JetBlue has been struggling to find its place. It’s not quite a low-cost carrier, but also not really seen as a true competitor to American, Delta, and United. JetBlue has introduced multiple transatlantic routes (and cut some recently) and is also looking to add a true First Class cabin domestically and open lounges (more here).
The Northeast Alliance that saw it closely partnering with American Airlines was dismantled. The two airlines launched it in 2021. This strategic partnership allowed for codeshares, frequent flyer reciprocity, and closer alignment between the two carriers. American has long struggled to build its presence in NYC organically and JetBlue would feed it traffic so that that New York would serve as an international gateway. For a few years, this alliance has worked as described. It was broken up during the Biden administration, but could come back under Trump.
I have sources telling me UA is heavily looking at B6 — merger or buying assets or something else I’m not remotely sure at the moment.
Whether any of the planned changes or even returning to the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines is enough to keep the carrier solvent remains to be seen. What’s more interesting is the play that United could make here. Aviation watchdog, @JonNYC, shared that United is looking at JetBlue for some unknown reason. This rumor, if true, would get United back into New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), allows it to create a Florida hub at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) (which it has been rumored to want a place in Florida to take on American with its nearby Miami International Airport (MIA) hub), and beefs up its presence enough in Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to take on Delta Air Lines there.
Oh yeah? Gee, sounds like a rumor I might have heard."[more industry consolidation?] And does United play a role in it?Scott Kirby: I don’t know. I think it’s I probably think it’s less likely than others think. JetBlue is the obvious candidate… (more..)www.investing.com/news/transcr…
United filed a Form 8-K saying that it was not attempting any purchase or merger of another carrier in January. While that might be true, it still leaves the door open for United to acquire assets like aircraft and slots at airports it wants such as New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Further comments from CEO Scott Kirby makes me (and many others) wonder if something could happen in the future. At a JP Morgan Conference earlier this week, Kirby said the following when asked about the possibility:
I don’t know. I think it’s probably less likely than others think. JetBlue is the obvious candidate. Joanna is going to be here later today. So you can ask her what she thinks. It’s possible. But there’s a lot of challenges, like I look at it from United’s perspective. We have a great plan that is working and mergers are so hard. They’re disruptive.
Your technology team spends two years on the sideline just integrating like I bet a lot of you use the United app. I bet you all think it’s the best app in the world in airlines because it is. Like that kind of investment just gets harder to do. We got some super cool stuff coming for customers this year. That stuff just gets harder and harder to do.
And at United, well, when the business based business plan is working, like the hurdle to go do it, we don’t need a deal for sure. The hurdle to go do a deal gets a whole lot higher. That said, at least at United, I would like to have a bigger presence on the other side of the river at JFK. But man, all the headache, all the brain damage of buying a whole airline to get that, that’s a lot to do. So, yes, really, I think the ball is going to be in JetBlue’s court.
They’re working out a lot of respect for them. They’re working hard. They’re also an airline that focuses on brand loyalty. So from the customer perspective, they have a lot of those sort of core DNA things that are expected there. Also competing with another airline, JFK and Boston that has that too.
So it’s a tough position for it to be in. So it’s sort of their decision on how to sort through that. That’s the only one that I think really is potentially in play one way or another.”
That’s not a “no.” Sure, Kirby is downplaying the interest in the assets JetBlue holds (aircraft and gates, mostly), but could this be another shrewd move by United’s CEO?
Anthony’s Take: I welcome this merger if true. United has a lot to gain and I don’t see too many paths for JetBlue to remain solvent on its own. I guess we’ll have to continue to chase the rumors until we get confirmation.
(Image Credits: American and United.)
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2 comments
Would rather see JetBlue get healthy – we need competition for premium cabin products
United wont buy a company just for gates if they need planes and pilots they would go for Spirit which can come with a lot cheaper price tag now