I’m not sure whether to be surprised by this development or not…
In this post:
Emirates & JetBlue cut ties as of October 2022
As of October 30, 2022, Emirates and JetBlue will be ending their partnership. As of that date the two airlines will no longer codeshare, and will no longer offer reciprocal points earning and redemption opportunities. Bookings already made as part of this partnership will of course be honored, but no points will be awarded.
For context, the two airlines first launched a partnership back in 2012. Historically Emirates has struggled with getting airline partners in the United States, but the airline obviously needs some feed at its hubs in the United States.
Lots of passengers would book tickets that included travel on JetBlue and Emirates, especially through the Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK) gateways. This would give Emirates access to all kinds of smaller markets that the airline didn’t serve directly, while also filling more JetBlue seats.
What’s the motivation for the two airlines cutting ties?
So, what’s the motivation for the partnership between Emirates and JetBlue being cut? Alliances are certainly shifting between airlines in the United States and airlines in the Gulf region.
For one, it’s expected that Emirates and United will announce a major partnership next week, which will probably be the biggest tie-up we’ve ever seen between a US airline and Emirates.
It’s interesting to consider how dynamics have changed beyond that:
- Emirates and Alaska used to partner, but that partnership ended when Alaska joined oneworld
- JetBlue and Qatar Airways have increasingly strengthened their partnership
- American and Qatar Airways have also strengthened their partnership, and are expected to do so even more in the coming months
What I find interesting here is that generally airlines don’t exactly practice monogamy with their partners. They often have all kinds of bilateral agreements that are beneficial in specific markets. Reading into this situation:
- Something tells me that the Emirates and United partnership will be really close and involved, more so than your typical codeshare agreement
- I think we’ll increasingly see Emirates and United grow closer, and see Qatar Airways and American grow closer, along with some smaller, aligned partnerships on the side (for example, American also cooperates with Alaska and JetBlue, and those airlines also have close partnerships with Qatar Airways)
- At the same time, United isn’t exactly helpful when it comes to providing feed for Emirates in New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS), since the airline has a much smaller presence at both airports than JetBlue
I’m very curious to see how this evolves, but I imagine Emirates and JetBlue cutting ties is related to Emirates and United hooking up.
Bottom line
Emirates and JetBlue are terminating their partnership as of late October 2022. The airlines have partnered for over a decade, so I’d consider this to be a pretty major breakup. This must somehow be related to next week’s announcement of Emirates and United launching a partnership.
Airlines definitely seem to be taking a different direction than before when it comes to the exclusivity surrounding partnerships.
What do you make of Emirates and JetBlue cutting ties?
Funny thing is that if United launches a EWR-DXB route as part of their anticipated partnership the experience in Business Class will actually get better.
This is the most exciting and indeed satisfying news for me this year. Emirates is one of the best airlines and I have always wondered how they ended up with jetblue.
Jetblue is the most nuisance airline I have ever board. Their customer service is so poor, will rate them 0 zero. Very disrespectful, unprofessional, rude.... disgruntled employees who careless about their clients ( passengers) especially if you're an Emirates passenger.
I could...
This is the most exciting and indeed satisfying news for me this year. Emirates is one of the best airlines and I have always wondered how they ended up with jetblue.
Jetblue is the most nuisance airline I have ever board. Their customer service is so poor, will rate them 0 zero. Very disrespectful, unprofessional, rude.... disgruntled employees who careless about their clients ( passengers) especially if you're an Emirates passenger.
I could write a whole book on jetblue. And unfortunately this poor attitude cuts across New York, Boston and Atlanta.
Emirates, thank you, thank you for listening to the cry of your passengers (clients). Thank you for the amazing services you provide. Your services is always appreciated ❤️
I wonder what DL will do as they're not aligning with the ME2 (Etihad isn't in the same league anymore as they're actually focused on how much money they're burning now). For ME partners Delta has Saudia and MEA through joint membership in SkyTeam, but their footprints are tiny compared to Emirates and Qatar and I'm guessing that there are not a lot of N American pax looking to connect through Lebanon or Saudi Arabia....
I wonder what DL will do as they're not aligning with the ME2 (Etihad isn't in the same league anymore as they're actually focused on how much money they're burning now). For ME partners Delta has Saudia and MEA through joint membership in SkyTeam, but their footprints are tiny compared to Emirates and Qatar and I'm guessing that there are not a lot of N American pax looking to connect through Lebanon or Saudi Arabia. I guess DL's close ties to KLM/AF become even more important to provide 1-stop connectivity to destinations in India/Africa and Korean Air as their primary connectivity partner in Asia.
I would venture to think that DL is likely content with KE, AF, and KL since they don't really seem to bank on a large footprint in India and Africa. I fly to Asia with relative frequency and while pricing is always higher than with the ME3, the connections through Incheon and Roissy (I haven't gone through Schiphol in the last year given its operational challenges) are always smooth and pleasant (though Roissy is definitely...
I would venture to think that DL is likely content with KE, AF, and KL since they don't really seem to bank on a large footprint in India and Africa. I fly to Asia with relative frequency and while pricing is always higher than with the ME3, the connections through Incheon and Roissy (I haven't gone through Schiphol in the last year given its operational challenges) are always smooth and pleasant (though Roissy is definitely showing its age...). If I'm going to the ME, I think I'd prefer EK or QS over AF or KL - those connections from Europe are sometimes on inter-European configured 737s or A3XXs - but to India, SEAsia, and Korea, KE, AF, and KL are great.
"At the same time, United isn’t exactly helpful when it comes to providing feed for Emirates in New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS), since the airline has a much smaller presence at both airports than JetBlue."
- True. But at the same time, no one has a bigger presence at IAD, IAH, or SFO than UA, and EK flies to all of them. I also wouldn't be surprised to see increased service to ORD and/or service to EWR brought back once this partnership launches.
Sorry, should have said "...direct service to EWR brought back..."
JFK has enough demand to be able to sustain EK services just based on local demand from NYC. Though they likely will not be able to fill 3 daily nonstop A380s (+ the Milan flight). I'd assume they would go to 2 daily nonstop flights from JFK.
Meanwhile, their connecting passengers will likely now fly though EWR, ORD, and IAH, instead of JFK and BOS.
I used to fly Emirates exclusively from the U.S....
JFK has enough demand to be able to sustain EK services just based on local demand from NYC. Though they likely will not be able to fill 3 daily nonstop A380s (+ the Milan flight). I'd assume they would go to 2 daily nonstop flights from JFK.
Meanwhile, their connecting passengers will likely now fly though EWR, ORD, and IAH, instead of JFK and BOS.
I used to fly Emirates exclusively from the U.S. from 2008 to 2016 and would always fly jetblue first since I lived in Florida. Jetblue provided a lot of feed for the EK flights. Prior to the codeshare agreement in 2012, they had an interline agreement, allowing passengers to book a ticket with flights on both airlines, but you would have to collect your bag at JFK and recheck them at the Emirates counter at T4.
Agreed, though I don't see folks flying through EWR unless EK brings their direct flight to DXB back. For example, if I'm in Florida heading to Asia, I'm likely not going to fly Florida --> EWR --> MXP --> DXB --> Asian destination.
With both UA and AC establishing ties with EK, next logical step is for Star Alliance to invite EK to join. And Skyteam to invite Etihad.
It's just a shame from a pax perspective that Etihad is a hollow shell of its former (money burning) self.
Was truly hoping that DL would get over its hubris, and reinstate a codeshare agreement with EK... but things definitely seem to be pointing UA's way.
Ed Bastion has made it his recent duty, nay raison d'être, to step on his own dick every chance he can. The list of stupidity that falls out of his mouth - whether it be hypocrisy about Open Skies, or his flat out lies about how well they handled/are handling Covid, or their current pilot issues - seems endless. I can't imagine DL being humbled any time soon.
I guess with stronger partnership with UAL, EK would increase services to Newark & Houston, possibly with A380 and also launch a Denver service (Major UAL hub not yet served by EK)