JetBlue & British Airways Codeshare Gets USDOT Greenlight

The United States Department of Transport (USDOT) has approved the planned codeshare between New York-based JetBlue and London-based British Airways. The approval came nearly three weeks after the two carriers applied for permission to implement reciprocal blanket codeshare services.

Greenlight from the Department of Transport

JetBlue and British Airways will continue to expand their networks in Europe and the US through their planned codeshare agreement. The two airlines filed a joint application with the US Department of Transport on May 22. The approval was granted on June 7, 2024, permitting them to engage in reciprocal codeshare services indefinitely.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

Under the agreement, British Airways will place its BA code on JetBlue flights between 75 city pairs linking Boston and New York with other destinations within the US. Similarly, JetBlue will place its B6 code on British Airways flights from London to 17 points in Europe. Customers can now seamlessly book flights to various destinations on a single ticket.

The initial proposed European routes include connections from London to Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Frankfurt, Geneva, Lisbon, Lyon, Munich, Paris, and Warsaw. On the other side of the pond, customers will have access to 39 destinations from New York City, including Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Salt Lake City, as well as 36 destinations from Boston, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Orlando.

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Airline loyalty reciprocity

As reported by Paxex.Aero, the routes listed in the filing are merely the initial proposal. The USDOT approval allows both airlines to add markets covered by open skies agreements, including many more points in Europe. However, non-open skies markets will require the airlines to notify the DOT. Furthermore, the two carriers are still yet to file fares to sell the seats on each other’s aircraft. At the time of the joint application, JetBlue said to Paxex.Aero,

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Whether the agreement extends to loyalty reciprocity for JetBlue’s TrueBlue members remains unclear. However, British Airways Executive Club members will have some loyalty perks, as the airline’s codeshare flights allow members to earn both Avios and tier points towards status. The benefit applies to flights operated by airlines outside the oneworld alliance, of which British Airways is a founding member.

JetBlue and British Airways transatlantic flights

The codeshare agreement allows both airlines to grow their network and offer customers access to more destinations in the respective regions without operating more flights or investing in more aircraft. JetBlue launched transatlantic flights between New York JFK and London Heathrow in August 2021.

Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock

The hybrid carrier has since grown its European network, adding flights from New York and Boston to Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, and Paris. Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that JetBlue offers up to 88 weekly flights to Europe, including 35 weekly services from the US to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

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While British Airways and JetBlue have had an interline partnership since 2013, the London-based carrier operates its transatlantic network in a long-standing joint venture with oneworld partner American Airlines. According to Cirium, British Airways operates up to 329 weekly flights from the UK to the US, including 77 weekly flights to New York and 21 weekly flights to Boston.

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