Delta Air Lines and LATAM are working with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to receive permission for an immunized joint venture. As part of this process, airlines and industry stakeholders are invited to comment, and JetBlue has noted some of its concerns. While the airline has concerns over access at congested airports in South America, it notably wants to keep its interlining relationship with LATAM intact and wants the DOT to mandate it.
JetBlue wants to keep the interlining partnership with LATAM
In a filing with the DOT, JetBlue noted that it currently has an interlining partnership with LATAM. This partnership has been in place since 2011. Interlining is not as extensive as codesharing. In an interlining agreement, it allows the two airlines to create multi-airline itineraries and have through-checked baggage, though, unlike codeshare agreements, airlines do not put their codes on each other’s flights.
JetBlue called LATAM an “anchor in South America for JetBlue’s independent, non-aligned partnership strategy.” As a result, it wants the DOT to include a condition requiring LATAM to maintain its interlining agreement with JetBlue. This is something the DOT has included in other agreements, such as the proposed Delta-WestJet approval that those two airlines did not move forward with over mandated slot divestitures.
JetBlue did note that it has a partnership with American Airlines under the Northeast Alliance, which is a codeshare agreement, that includes travel from New York (JFK) to key South American cities, namely Rio De Janeiro (GIG), Sao Paulo (GRU), Buenos Aires (EZE), and Santiago (SCL). However, JetBlue believes this partnership complements what the airline has in place with LATAM.
JetBlue noted that pre-crisis, it was connecting nearly…