American Airlines and JetBlue Airways Sign Agreement to Collaborate at Key East Coast Gateways

NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) and JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced an agreement for commercial collaboration that will offer JetBlue customers simple connections to American's international flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Boston's Logan International Airport, where JetBlue is the largest domestic airline, and offer American's customers convenient nonstop domestic flight options on JetBlue from those markets.

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Under terms of the agreement, American intends to transfer eight slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport and one slot pair at White Plains, N.Y. to JetBlue, and JetBlue intends to transfer 12 slot pairs at John F. Kennedy International Airport to American.

The agreement will provide customers with interline service in non-overlapping markets, which will offer them more choices and convenient connections. The companies are also exploring other commercial cooperation.

The partnership will focus on routes into and out of JFK and Boston that extend and complement each others' networks. For example, it would provide seamless service for customers who wish to fly nonstop from Nantucket to JFK on JetBlue and from there to London on American. Likewise, customers can board American from Paris to JFK and connect to a nonstop flight on JetBlue to Burlington, Vt. JetBlue customers will be able to effortlessly connect on flights to 12 of American's international destinations from JFK and Boston including Barcelona, Spain; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.

On domestic routes where the carriers don't currently compete, American customers can book convenient, nonstop JetBlue flights from JFK and Boston to 18 domestic markets, including Portland, Maine; Nantucket; and Burlington, Vt.  

Customers of both airlines are expected to benefit from improved connections, while each airline will see additional customers fed into their networks. None of the routes on which the airlines will cooperate overlap current flights served by the other.

The agreement will provide connections for more passengers at JFK and Boston to American's international destinations in Europe, Asia, and South America. "This new agreement with JetBlue complements our domestic and international network.  It will provide important opportunities to grow international traffic flowing into and out of the United States for both American and JetBlue," Gerard Arpey, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, said. "That ultimately strengthens our operations, network, and customer feed at JFK and at Boston Logan."

"Our successful transition to Sabre, along with our new Terminal 5 at JFK and growing presence in Boston, have positioned us to take advantage of important partnership opportunities," said JetBlue's CEO Dave Barger.  "This agreement with American extends our route network to new and existing customers and will enhance our relevance at both JFK and Boston."  

Certain portions of the cooperative agreement may be subject to regulatory review.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning Web site, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are registered trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About JetBlue Airways

New York-based JetBlue Airways has created a new airline category based on value, service and style. In 2009, the carrier ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Low-Cost Carriers in North America" by J.D. Power and Associates, a customer satisfaction recognition received for the fifth year in a row. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue is now pleased to offer customers Lots of Legroom and super-spacious Even More Legroom seats. JetBlue introduced complimentary in-flight e-mail and instant messaging services on aircraft "BetaBlue," a first among U.S. domestic airlines. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 60 cities with 600 daily flights. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JET-BLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530 or visit www.jetblue.com.

SOURCE JetBlue Airways

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