Attorney General Bonta Secures Decision Affirming the End of Anticompetitive American Airlines, JetBlue Alliance

Affirms the protection of market competition on high traffic routes that include the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, and Santa Ana

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to a Court of Appeals decision affirming the lower court's decision to end the anticompetitive Northeast Alliance. The Northeast Alliance was an anticompetitive joint venture that enabled two of the largest airlines in the United States to function like a single carrier on certain routes, threatening competition in an industry already experiencing the negative impacts of market consolidation. On September 21, 2021, Attorney General Bonta, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and a bipartisan coalition of states, sued the airlines over the Northeast Alliance. In July 2023, Attorney General Bonta secured a final permanent injunction by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 

“The court’s decision affirms what we know to be true: from more expensive tickets, to low quality service, American Airlines and JetBlue's Northeast Alliance was anticompetitive and harmful to consumers nationwide," said Attorney General Bonta. "We are proud to have worked with our federal and state partners to secure this important win for consumers. Antitrust enforcement is about protecting the economy for everyone — whether for groceries or across the tech sector or in retail, I will continue to step in when our competitive market is threatened.”

A copy of the decision can be found here.