Inside the Antitrust Challenge to American Airlines-JetBlue Airways “Northeast Alliance”

Partner Ben Dryden has written an analysis of the “Northeast Alliance” proposed by American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, which a federal district court in Massachusetts has ruled violates antitrust laws. The court found that although the Alliance created real, tangible benefits for consumers, the Alliance nevertheless amounted to an illegal restraint of trade by American and JetBlue. The court’s decision stands as a reminder that agreements among horizontal competitors can warrant close scrutiny under the antitrust laws, even if they create benefits for the companies involved and for consumers.

Click here to read the full article, published in The Air & Space Lawyer, Volume 36, Number 1, 2023. © 2023 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.