Supreme Court Declines to Hear American Airlines’ Appeal Over JetBlue Northeast Alliance

The Supreme Court’s decision keeps a ruling from a lower court in place that may define how airline partnership agreements are viewed by federal regulators.

A Boeing 737 American Airlines passenger aircraft (foreground) and a Airbus A320 American Airlines passenger aircraft (center) at a terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on April 30, 2025. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear American Airlines’ appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down its Northeast Alliance with JetBlue Airways, bringing a formal end to a high-profile legal dispute over airline competition in the northeast.

On June 30, the justices rejected the petition without comment. This leaves in place a decision from the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a 2023 ruling made by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of the District of Massachusetts. The court found that the partnership between the two carriers, the largest and sixth-largest passenger airlines, violated federal antitrust law by eliminating competition in key markets, including Boston and the New York City area.