Attorney General Bonta Secures Decision Blocking American Airlines and Jet Blue’s Anticompetitive Profit-Sharing Venture

Decision protects market competition on high traffic routes between Northeast Alliance cities and 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 on a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocking American Airlines and JetBlue from continuing and from further implementing the 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 routes to and from New York and Boston, threatening competition in an industry already experiencing the negative impacts of market consolidation. The California cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, and Santa Ana were the most affected by this illegal activity. In 2021, Attorney General Bonta, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and a bipartisan coalition of states, filed a lawsuit against the airlines alleging that the Northeast Alliance violated the federal Sherman Act. 

“With each passing decade, the airline industry has grown more and more consolidated and hardworking consumers are paying the price,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Northeast Alliance's only benefit was to American Airlines and JetBlue’s bottom line. With the Northeast Alliance officially dismantled, I hope American Airlines and JetBlue can get back to focusing on what really matters – their customers. Today’s decision sends a strong message: Whether you call it a merger, a takeover, or an alliance, we're not going to stand by when companies take action to consolidate their market share and disrupt competition in the process.” 

A copy of the decision is available here.