United Airlines Partners With JetBlue, Paving Way for JFK Return and Shared Perks

The Blue Sky alliance will merge loyalty perks, bring United back to JFK in 2027, and expand travel options.

United Express and JetBlue aircraft are on the ground as an American Airlines aircraft comes in to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

United Airlines and JetBlue Airways have unveiled a broad new partnership that links their loyalty programs, streamlines cross-booking, expands flight options in Boston and New York, and sets the stage for United’s comeback to New York’s JFK airport.

The collaboration, dubbed Blue Sky, was announced in a joint statement on May 29, and marks one of the most significant non-merger alliances between two U.S. carriers in recent years.