{"id":540712,"date":"2021-09-21T16:26:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T20:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/jetblue-ceo-robin-hayes-provides-an-update-on-the-northeast-alliance-and-action-by-the-u-s-department-of-justice-doj\/"},"modified":"2021-09-21T16:26:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T20:26:09","slug":"jetblue-ceo-robin-hayes-provides-an-update-on-the-northeast-alliance-and-action-by-the-u-s-department-of-justice-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/jetblue-ceo-robin-hayes-provides-an-update-on-the-northeast-alliance-and-action-by-the-u-s-department-of-justice-doj\/","title":{"rendered":"JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes Provides an Update on the Northeast Alliance and Action by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes Provides an Update on the Northeast Alliance and Action by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)<\/b><\/p>\n

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nJetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) CEO Robin Hayes today issued the following message to the airline\u2019s 20,000 crewmembers:\n<\/p>\n

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20210921006083\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Our<\/p>\n

Our Alliance with American Airlines means more flying for JetBlue. (Photo: Business Wire)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nDear Crewmembers,\n<\/p>\n

\nCOVID-19 has thrown unimaginable challenges at us, and we\u2019ve worked together to manage them every step of the way. We played defense to reduce spending and maintain our 21-year no furlough commitment, but we also went on the offense by investing in new routes and BlueCities that bring more of JetBlue\u2019s competitive effect and low fares to the market. Our Northeast Alliance (NEA) with American Airlines is an example of how we played offense to not only get our fleet and Crewmembers flying again, but also set up JetBlue for long-term growth and bring more competition to the Northeast.\n<\/p>\n

\nGiven our focus on the NEA, I wanted to talk about action the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking in federal court to unwind the NEA. Regardless of what the DOJ claims about us in court and in the media, it\u2019s important you know that JetBlue\u2019s commitment to competition and low fares remains as strong as ever. This is not at all like a merger with American \u2013 we have two different business models and are not working together on pricing. It\u2019s also important that you have the full picture on benefits the NEA is already delivering, and I want to reassure you that the DOJ\u2019s action will not affect our plans to continue implementing the NEA.\n<\/p>\n

\nMany things set JetBlue apart, but our \u201csecret sauce\u201d is our 20,000 passionate and caring Crewmembers who believe a small airline like ours can continue to make a big difference. Each of you deliver a simple but extraordinary value proposition \u2013 that no one should have to choose between a low fare and a great experience. By bringing this to life for 21 years, you\u2019ve helped us build a much-loved low-fare brand and a reputation for shaking up the status quo, challenging the competition to raise their game.\n<\/p>\n

\nEven though our low fares and great service benefit travelers, it hasn\u2019t always been easy to get our foot in the door at the largest and most important congested airports where the big airlines dominate. We\u2019ve had to fight our way into airports like Los Angeles (LAX), Newark, Atlanta, Miami and others where the \u201cJetBlue Effect\u201d of lowering fares and stimulating new demand is badly needed.\n<\/p>\n

\nIf there is a silver lining to the pandemic\u2019s impact on our industry, it\u2019s that space freed up for us to introduce competition in airports like LAX and Miami, and we\u2019re setting ourselves up for long-term success at London Heathrow, where we recently launched our transformative transatlantic service. I\u2019m so proud of how far we\u2019ve come, but there is still plenty of opportunity for us to shake up the market with more competition, especially in the Northeast where Customers who know and love JetBlue keep asking for us to grow.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhile we have built a successful business in both New York and Boston, our runway for growth in the Northeast to challenge global legacy carriers Delta and United is limited. And I\u2019m sad to say that our biggest obstacle to bringing more low fares and great service to the Northeast right now is the DOJ \u2013 the very government agency that should be making every effort to foster robust competition among airlines.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn New York\u2019s airports, there has been quite literally no room for us to add flights. There are no slots available at LGA and JFK, and it remains extremely difficult to grow in Newark given gate and space constraints. Delta and United \u2013 with large international networks, ample financial resources, and significant airport gate and slot holdings \u2013 have a lock on the market and make it impossible for an airline like JetBlue to grow and introduce sorely needed low-fare competition. In Boston, Customers really love flying JetBlue, but our sales pitch is hampered by a relative lack of network breadth and depth compared to the deep-pocketed legacy airline that plans to grow even further there.\n<\/p>\n

\nThese obstacles to growth led us to an unlikely alliance with American Airlines which, even as the world\u2019s largest carrier, also has not been able to compete with Delta and United\u2019s dominance in the Northeast.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe backbone of the NEA is lots of JetBlue growth, bringing our much-loved experience and low fares on more routes as we tap into American\u2019s slot portfolio and Customer base. We create a viable third competitor in the Northeast by connecting our growing network to American\u2019s through codeshare and reciprocal loyalty benefits. American gets to codeshare and put its loyal Customers on JetBlue\u2019s growing New York and Boston network of flights. The NEA also enables JetBlue to grow our network even faster than we otherwise would have, and these opportunities are a large part of why we delayed the retirement of our 30 owned E190 aircraft.\n<\/p>\n

\nWe hoped this plan to introduce new competition to the marketplace would receive a warm reception from both DOT and DOJ. After an exhaustive six-month review, the DOT welcomed this new, meaningful change to the competitive landscape by entering into an agreement with us<\/a>. DOJ and some states, however, have not been receptive. DOJ believes that American\u2019s influence will bring an end to the \u201cJetBlue Effect.\u201d Of course, the NEA is already up and running and every day we are proving DOJ\u2019s theory wrong. We have no intention of abandoning our low-fare model \u2013 in fact, the NEA empowers us to deliver more of it.\n<\/p>\n

The NEA is already delivering benefits<\/b><\/p>\n

\nIn court, DOJ is sure to face an uphill battle opposing the expansion of low fares in New York and Boston. There is absolutely no evidence that the NEA is harming consumers, and quite the opposite, it is already delivering on the benefits we promised:\n<\/p>\n

The NEA is enabling the expansion of JetBlue\u2019s low fares and great service:<\/i><\/p>\n