JetBlue and United Airlines have announced “Blue Sky,” a new collaboration that gives customers of both airlines even more options to find flights that fit their plans, as well as new opportunities to earn and use MileagePlus miles and TrueBlue points across both airlines.
Blue Sky includes the following components, with some starting as early as this fall, subject to regulatory review:
- United’s MileagePlus customers can earn and use miles on most JetBlue flights, while JetBlue’s TrueBlue members can earn and use points for flights on United’s domestic and international network.
- Each airline will offer flights on one another’s website and app to make booking across the two airlines’ complementary networks simple and easy. Blue Sky includes an interline agreement, not a codeshare, meaning each airline will continue to publish and market flights independently under its own brand and flight numbers.
- The benefits of each airline’s loyalty program—priority boarding, complimentary access to preferred and extra legroom seats and same-day standby/switch—will be available when customers travel on the other airline’s aircraft.
- JetBlue will provide United access to slots at JFK International Airport for up to seven daily round-trip flights out of JFK Terminal 6 to begin as early as 2027. In addition, JetBlue and United will exchange eight flight timings at Newark.
- United will move its website and mobile app’s ability to sell hotels, rental cars, cruises and travel insurance, on both a stand-alone and package basis, to new technology and services provided by JetBlue’s Paisly platform.
JetBlue and United will continue to manage and price their networks independently, including the launch of new routes, frequencies and promotions.
As part of Blue Sky, members of each airline’s loyalty program will find similar benefits over time—as well as reciprocal revenue-based miles and points accrual and reciprocal miles and points redemption—when they use and earn miles or points on the partner airline. Timing for reciprocal benefits for customers will be announced later this year. Whether customers are flying on United or JetBlue in the future, they will receive benefits in line with what they receive today, including:
- Priority treatment for check-in, boarding, security and baggage
- Access to preferred and extra leg room seats
- Free first checked bag
- Same-day changes and switches
JetBlue and United will share more details about the timing of these features later this year.
(United Airlines)
TrueBlue, JetBlue’s loyalty program, includes the following features:
- Free to join, free to earn points and with points that never expire—for all customers
- JetBlue allows loyalty members to pool their points into a joint account, bringing family and friends closer with this feature
- No blackout dates for award seats—JetBlue offers last-seat availability with points, even for its Mint premium experience
- The ability for customers to unlock benefits after just a few flights with “Perks You Pick”
United’s MileagePlus includes the following features:
- Free to join, for all customers
- Miles never expire
- No blackout dates for award seats—if there’s a seat open you can buy it with miles
- Just about anything you can pay for with cash at United, you can buy with miles (seats, Wi-Fi, snacks, etc.)
- United allows members to pool their miles with family and friends into a joint account
- Free access to United’s new Starlink internet service
United’s network gives TrueBlue members hundreds of additional domestic and international options to use their points—165 across the U.S., eight in Canada, two in the Caribbean, 31 in Latin America, 27 in Europe, five in Africa, two in the Middle East, 15 in Asia, and 14 in the South Pacific. Similarly, JetBlue flies to 15 destinations that United does not serve including Martha’s Vineyard, MA; Cartagena, Colombia; Kingston, Jamaica; and Ponce, Puerto Rico.
While United and JetBlue will continue to manage their commercial relationship independently, both airlines may extend the terms of parts of their corporate programs to the flights operated by the other airline. This includes the discounts each airline has independently negotiated.
Finally, JetBlue is expected to be the first partner airline to deploy and syndicate the technology Kinective Media by United Airlines, designed to connect airline customers to personalized, real-time advertising, content, experiences, and more.
For more information, visit www.jetblue.com and www.united.com.
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