United CEO Scott Kirby Scoffs At Buying JetBlue, Says It's "Last Thing" He'd Do

I wouldn't put too much stock into that comment. If UA sees additional consolidation by one of the other US4 he's going to jump. It's just a matter of whether any of the US4 will seek to do an acquisition.

Better off waiting for JetBlue to file chapter 11 and buy the company out of bankruptcy, minus all the debt.

The same United that's weak in Latin America without a strong hub for southbound traffic, and has been eyeing focus cities like Fort Lauderdale/Miami? hmmm

There is a host of internet commenters - including Ben - that have believed that UA would acquire B6 despite the fact that UA execs have repeatedly said they want the choice morsels of B6 but do not want the whole thing.

I big reason for not wanting the whole thing is the debt that B6 has and Kirby is correct that B6 loses money and it is highly unlikely that UA could use the assets that B6 has to make money.

Let's also face a reality that many do not want to admit. DL has done a pretty good job of making B6' life miserable over the past 20 years just as DL has done with every other airline in every other hub market where DL stood a chance at becoming the largest airline. UA knows full well, no matter how much it wants to say that it is equal to or bypassed DL, that DL will make UA's life even more miserable than life has been for B6.

UA wants the best parts of B6 at a discount and they are willing to play a waiting game and pick up what they can in bankruptcy - if that happens - before they buy B6 whole.

and DL just said that it has no interest in consolidation - and doesn't need it.

DL knows full well that the chances of merger or even asset acquisitions involving the big 4 is slim to none.

If DL says it doesn't want to participate in consolidation and AA can't afford it, there is little to no likelihood that any regulator is going to allow any one of the big 4 to participate in consolidation

Hard to imagine any reason to acquire JetBlue outside of chapter 11. If and when B6 goes in (end of 2026 or sometime in 2027 perhaps?) and you don't have to take all of the debt, B6 in whole or in part becomes a more attractive opportunity. The BlueSky partnership is simply a form of due diligence for a potential transaction. Will be interesting to see if a bidding war breaks out between UA and AA for B6.

I believe him and here's why. Why would UA buy JetBlue and take on their $8.4 billion dollars (and growing) debt load.
United can achieve what they want which is JFK slots if they just wait and allow JetBlue to enter bankruptcy and shed a ton of that debt or wait for JetBlue to liquidate like Spirit and pick up the pieces they want.
I don't think United wants any to do with the A220 and the engine issues that aircraft has. I don't think FLL is all that important to United in fact I think if they were to purchase B6 they'd just pull a bunch of that capacity out of FLL and redirect it elsewhere. United might be interested in BOS and giving DL a run for its money in BOS that could be a toss up. However the one airport United wants back in in a significant way is JFK. If B6 were to go under I don't see the DOT handing Delta or American a ton of additional slots, that isn't to say United would get all of B6's JFK slots but they would most likely be first in line to get the lionshare of B6's JFK slots.
I think Kirby believes another US carrier will enter bankruptcy and it United is patience they could probably get their hands on the good parts of JetBlue and leave the rest on the bankruptcy floor.

Just waiting for B6 to go bankrupt

Who wants to take the first stab here?

Literally or figuratively?

Who wants anything to do with this Noo Yawk piece of evil flaming garbage? Mint is shint.

OMFG.

First Kirby.
Then Tim Dunn.

The confidence of one doing the opposite and the other always fluffy wrong.

Heck yeah, UA will be buying B6.
Mark this moment.

Scott is smiling mirrors. He never completes anything that he suggests. He just throws things out and holds something actually sticks.

Scott is smoking mirrors.

you can't fix, crazy. Timmy proves it.

" just as DL has done with every other airline in every other hub market where DL stood a chance at becoming the largest airline."

you do have to admire the qualifiers he puts in there nowadays... Basically it's now "delta is awesome in every hub market where they had a chance at winning... but where they spent money on an obviously losing proposition -- well, we shouldn't talk about those since Delta is clearly losing in many markets"

First the "where they had a chance at being the largest" which basically excludes LAX, Austin, Seattle, Miami vs AA (oh tim... we all remember your rants about how AA was done for in MIA...), etc

Then you've consistently lied about Delta's actual size in NYC vs United then changed your tune when facts were brought up no matter how many ways you tried to skew the data from total flights to widebodies in NYC, etc.
SEA... I guess that's what you were trying to avoid being brought up since Delta never had a chance at being bigger.

Then the qualifier of "hub" so that other items about Delta's network can be ignored.
Ignores how Delta walked away from BNA and SJC focus cities when WN showed them the door.
It also ignores how Delta has lost so much share across the midwest to AA and UA
It ignores the enormous marketshare in the Southeast Delta has lost to AA
among other things...
I admire your new qualifiers, tim. They're very amusing ways for you to seem right to yourself but it's basically like saying "Delta is the greatest airline in the world headquartered SE of Chattanooga."

Keep Climbing, buddy. Everyone has their popcorn ready for your latest rants.

At least you are an authentic representative of Chicago street life.

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

United doesn’t need JB’s planes. It needs some of it gates. That’s it. And no one else is going to buy JB. Definitely not in this market.

sorry, you didnt mention UA's terrible baggage handling so im not reading this

Tim, do you actually think anyone cares what you say?
Even Delta fired you.

UA announced the “Coastliner” plane will fly LAX/SFO - EWR. NB are notorious for holding off cargo (BIG MONEY). A lot of Asian originating cargo ends up at JFK. It is trucked from the EWR cargo facility to the JFK cargo facilities and released to the consignee there. UNLESS UA flies WB on coast to coast route into JFK, they will again lose money.

Reading Kirby is not wanted to ‘buy’ B6 is refreshing - merging crews is never an easy process - ask a TW FA/FO! UA has enough NB aircraft and is purchasing a boat-load til 2032. Replacing UA’s 767/777 are a must - B6 doesn’t own WB. The only thing UA (Kirby) wants is the JFK slots - not BOS or FLL (IAH works well for S.A.). Otherwise FLL as a connecting airport is useless.

Connecting passenger traffic via JFK was never profitable for the ‘domestic’ carrier. Unless you carry the pax over the water, your portion of the fare is minimal. BUT… Cargo faring is not structured the same way. UA can make BANK if they can carry the cargo via JFK if it’s wholly on them or they split it with another carrier.

The cargo work done at UA is subcontracted out to a different handler. UA doesn’t have to hire workers or pay them. But if you put passengers on a plane - CSR, Mech, FA, FO, Ramp that would come out of UA directly.

That is why cargo can make money, whereas passengers don’t generate as much. Plus there’s NO DRAMA!

the delusion is yours in thinking that I was fired by a company and then become their "biggest internet fan"

eskimo represents the sheeple that bite on any "news" they think will rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic = and yet there has never been any basis for any total acquisition of B6 by UA

and mini brain,
you can only wish that DL WAS NOT the largest airline in 8 of their 9 hubs but they actually are. It is SEA where they are not the largest - and yet you love to think they are losing money there.
again, you can't answer the question as to how UA manages to fly 10% more ASMs but can only deliver 2/3 of the profits that DL generated in 2025 on a system basis. What has UA been doing for the past 48 years of deregulation that they can't match - let alone pass DL - on financial metrics? Given that DL generates more money flying its international network that UA does on its much larger network, UA's strategy clearly isn't capable of generating industry leading anything.
and yes, including baggage handling.

All kinds of people latched on to the notion that UA was going to push AA out of ORD and yet you couldn't answer the question as to why UA would want to become the smallest airline at JFK and BOS and fight against DL, a far more profitable competitor.

NO one wants to say the truth but UA knows full well that it cannot succeed in competing against DL so it trashes B6.

Kirby is hoping he can pick up B6 assets for cheap in a bankruptcy; let's see how well that strategy works = but I'm putting it down, as others have noted, as yet another Kirby lip flapping that never turned into reality.

UA is just going to have to live long term with the failed decision to leave JFK, something no other carrier including AA B6 or DL have done in any other competitive and limited access market.

i think you have exactly the right answer.

So, based on the Dictionary for American English that closely aligns with Trump's english now, I guess United will buy JetBlue for the right price.

JB is the largest airline in BOS. UA is the largest in NYC and will be returning to JFK-LAX/SFO transcons next year with lie-flat suites not recliners.

UA has more than twice the cargo revenue of DL or AA. JFK-LAX/SFO transcons are about corporate and credit card revenue not cargo.

Because it doesn’t make sense for JFK slots when they already got that from JetBlue. Florida is not a high yield premium market and United already has EWR which they note all the time as a New York City base lol when it’s convenient for them so it would be a monopoly if allowed to grow in JFK a lot. United does not need JetBlue . American would be an entirely different conversation due to to their size obviously but that will never happen

"Credit card revenue would be much bigger if it were part of the United network" --> Ben you should write on article on if it's possible to profitability fly an airplane in the US. As in not can airlines make money because of credit cards but rather is it possible for an airline to actually make money in the US just flying airplanes.

Walter Mitty Dunn, posted on May 26, 2026, 3:48 pm. “That's why you fly simulators and I fly real aircraft”

The question I would really like answered is: Are you are truly a pilot Walter, if so please give a full account of yourself or suffer the consequences. Go on Tim Dunn prove once and for all that you are who you claim to be, or, be known as the simpleton Walter Mitty Dunn, forever.

Walter Mitty Dunn, posted on May 26, 2026, 3:48 pm. “That's why you fly simulators and I fly real aircraft”

The question I would really like answered is: Are you truly a pilot Walter, if so please give a full account of yourself or suffer the consequences. Go on Tim Dunn prove once and for all that you are who you claim to be, or, be known as the simpleton Walter Mitty Dunn, forever.

Walter Mitty Dunn, posted on May 26, 2026, 3:48 pm. “That's why you fly simulators and I fly real aircraft”

The question I would really like answered is: Are you truly a pilot Walter, if so please give a full account of yourself or suffer the consequences. Go on Tim Dunn prove once and for all that you are who you claim to be, or, be known as the simpleton Walter Mitty Dunn, forever.

If some other airline (domestic or foreign) or airline alliance (see below) were to make a play for JetBlue, Mr Kirby would scream bloody murder. If in doubt, Delta owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic just for access to Heathrow.
To fortify its position at the new T6 at JFK, the Star Alliance could be the front man for its Euro & Asian members who want to assure a domestic service partner. Therefore, B6 would be the "shadow airline" for UA at JFK as well as fill in the UA voids at BOS and LAX.
For the United States, Star only has United; SkyTeam only has Delta. Yet, OneWorld has AA & Alaska/Hawaiian.
To hedge its bet, Star could be inclined to look for another domestic partner.

Kirby is right…. as New York is quickly becoming a 1970s-80s era Detroit. The one thing JetBlue seems to be doing right is recognizing this. UA is recognizing B6 is at risk should the Detroitification of the Big Apple persist.

Here is to the success of JetBlue’s repatriation attempts to Florida.

LoveToFly, this is spot on, and is actually quite obvious, regardless of what Kirby or anyone else says. As a CEO, Kirby might be a little rough around the edges, but in all honesty, what airline industry veteran doesn't have a little bit of excess bravado and spunk? He's just saying some of the quiet parts out loud.

It's all just a long play to get JFK gates, no matter how it happens. They know they are in a good position to hold out for it, B6 however is not. And it really plays in to really only three options, all where UA can win.
1. B6 liquidates, they are probably good through 2027 though. Either way, they can wait, and pick up the scraps with everyone else.
2. B6 goes chapter 11 and is desperate for a partner. As long as that debt load can be mitigated, it makes it an easy target for acquisition. Maybe they need to split the spoils for antitrust, but it BOS could be an easy loss leader and give it to someone else. TD will say that DL pulled off a masterclass by holding on to BOS and will dominate. Fine. No one really cares about Boston in comparison to the NY metro.
3. B6 muddles along, but ultimately, they know they can't survive in the current form long term, and the current partnership expands.

Why would anyone buy JetBlue right now and assume their $8B of debt? Why not wait for them to collapse and come in and buy the remains at a much better price. Both Alaska and United have signaled they are not interested in buying JetBlue.

It’s not strange as this article says, it’s math.

Exactly. That is the situation in a nutshell.

I cringe at all the airport facilities JetBlue leases where they have 1 flight a day or less.

ha ha... you'd love to know my credentials but they are way too extensive to list here.

consequences?

yeah, right. 🙂

DL carries millions of pounds of cargo from JFK to LAX and SFO; there is very good money there.

and the reason why UA's cargo revenue is so high is because of the size of their TPAC network
You might have noticed that DL has scores of 35Ks coming in the next few years and those things are cargo beasts compared to UA's TPAC aircraft.

and, yes, DL cleans up in NYC and CA because of its much larger Amex revenue

Double the cargo revenue for UA. Not even close with 135 more 787s coming.

How about those 90+ NPS with Starlink on 500 aircraft and a third of UA/UAX flights? Heck, that's as many aircraft as DL hopes to have with Amazon LEO in 2029? 2030? Yikes!

And BTW UA is 60% bigger than AA at ORD. DL #2 at SEA & BOS not to mention NYC.

Walter Mitty Dunn, posted on May 26, 2026, 3:48 pm. “That's why you fly simulators and I fly real aircraft”

As we thought just a common or garden Walter Mitty …. Done nothing, been nowhere but tries in vein to talk the talk.

Very impressive Walter, for a failed third grade student.

you only wish I failed - at anything.

You wanna know my credentials? jet in for a visit w/ your passport in tow

Starlink has nothing to do with cargo, dumba**

and 90% of UA mainline aircraft don't have Starlink = which is impossible for you to admit.

DL and UA do very well in transcon cargo; DL will simply blow UA out of the water with BOTH VERSIONS of the A350's greater cargo capability

The 90+ Starlink NPS scores on 500 aircraft and over a third of UA/UAX flights were addressed in the Berstein interview along with JB and other items. BTW UA is starting to install Starlink on its 777s. UA has already reached DL's aircraft goal for Amazon LEO in 2029? 2030? Too funny.

Still waiting on those markets in which the 789s & 789 IGWs don't work otherwise an advantage is in large part is just overkill especially in an inferior network. And how long will these DL interiors take to get approved/installed (see DL transcon A321neo with 44 recliners). So 2027? 2028? or longer? UA will continue to enjoy the benefits of its dominant TPAC network.

And I was responding to your erroneous contention that DL was #1 in 8 of its 9 hubs. #2 in SEA & BOS not to mention NYC.

once again, you are still so busy pimping for UA that you can't stick to the facts.
There is a huge transcon market and DL meets that, in part w/ the 767 which generates far more revenue than any A321 ever could. DL will always fly widebodies TCON just for the cargo revenue.

Starlink still doesn't exist on 90% of UA's mainline aircraft and you just can't admit it.
You also can't admit that DL's WiFi speed and coverage will grow dramatically as Viasat puts 2 more satellites into service- one over the Americas and one over Asia.

and DL is indeed #1 in BOS - so sad that you are so consumed with touting UA's superiority that you don't have actual data.

DL is the largest domestic airline in NYC and has the most slots and flights. and DL IS the largest airline at JFK and LGA. Somehow you think that LGA and JFK aren't the same market as EWR for purposes of wanting UA to be allowed to acquire B6 but you can't admit that DL does dominate 2 of the 3 NYC airports.

And the worst thing is that Kirby never said that UA wanted to acquire all of B6 and neither has any other UA exec. They want the best pieces. You will be sad when B6 pulls the plug on even leasing JFK slots in part because there is nothing to gain for B6.

Hypocrite. Flaming hypocrite you are

Ok! Where and when Walter, assuming that you are inviting me to visit the U.S.? As it is quite a while since I visited family stateside, I can kill two birds with one stone, metaphorically speaking …. 🙂

Perhaps I can teach you how to break your second grade habit of staring a sentence or paragraph with a lowercase letter? Your call Walter?

You definitely failed your third grade English test Walter. This failure can be seen by everyone in your post above.

Allow me to explain, three sentences only one of which is starting with a capital letter. No full stop at the end of the last sentence, now these are graphic illustrations of your failure to master the English language, yes Walter?

Notwithstanding, thank you for your invitation to “Jet in for a visit”, I would only be too pleased to oblige old sock. So that one can make the necessary arrangements, you will need to say where and roughly when ?

Surely Walter, it is a matter of general knowledge that one needs a passport to “Jet in” anywhere. A person who posts “That's why you fly simulators and I fly real aircraft”, would know all about passports, yes? Yes, another failure on your part Walter, hard luck old sausage.

Demonstrably wrong as usual.

BOS
JB: 27.25%
DL: 21.85%

https://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?20=E

UA still #1 in NYC with 45% more of the lucrative international traffic!

https://www.panynj.gov/airports/en/statistics-general-info.html

As for transcons, Yikes!

https://onemileatatime.com/news/delta-most-important-route-customer-satisfaction-issue/#comment-365365

Wonder if Delta could convince Richard Anderson to come back?

I think he's playing "hard to get" to negotiate a more favorable deal. Act like you don't even want the car at the dealership sort of thing