• by Tanya Gazdik , May 29, 2025

JetBlue and United are partnering for Blue Sky, a collaboration that gives customers of both airlines more options to find flights that fit their plans.

The collaboration is no relation to the similarly named startup social media platform, notes USA Today. 

The alliance provides customers with new opportunities to earn and use MileagePlus miles and TrueBlue points across both airlines.

“The reveal of this new Blue Sky partnership comes after weeks of speculation that United and JetBlue would join forces in a new partnership,” according to The Points Guy. “This joining of forces between United and JetBlue is significant for frequent flyers of both carriers. They will now gain new connectivity and ways to earn and redeem miles in cities where their preferred airline does not have as strong a presence.”

Each airline will offer flights on one another’s website and app to make booking across the two airlines’ complementary networks simple and easy, the airlines say.  

“Airline loyalty programs are an increasingly profitable business for major carriers,” according to Reuters, which first reported the negotiations for a partnership in April. “JetBlue has been seeking partnerships after a federal judge blocked its so-called Northeast Alliance with American in 2023. JetBlue has been struggling to return to sustained profitability after the COVID-19 pandemic. It has managed to post a profit in just two of the past nine quarters.”

United has made significant flight cuts at its Newark hub.

“United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said on Thursday that they would swap a handful of flights at two New York airports, providing United a long-sought return to Kennedy International Airport,” according to The New York Times. “Under a new partnership called Blue Sky, the airlines would swap seven flights at J.F.K. and Newark Liberty International Airport, giving United another option in the New York area.”

“The deal is subject to regulatory review, the airlines said,” according to CNBC. “Some aspects of the partnership, which the carriers announced Thursday, will begin as early as the fall, though the airlines didn’t provide exact timing. They also did not provide financial details of the deal.”

Other elements of the deal could begin as soon as this fall, pending a regulatory review.

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.