FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are pushing ahead with an expansion of their partnership in the Northeast, even as a federal judge considers the government’s attempt to kill the deal.
The airlines said Friday that American will add six new routes from New York City while dropping one. JetBlue will start several new routes from New York and Boston including service to the Bahamas and Bermuda. Some routes will operate only during summer, and most will be limited to one or two flights a day.
American said it plans to drop service between New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Atlanta in May, when JetBlue adds that route. Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines also fly the route.
American said that on May 5 it will add flights between LaGuardia and Buffalo, New York, Greenville, South Carolina, and four other cities.
The new destinations would expand the airlines’ alliance to about 700 flights a day overall, but the plan hinges on winning a lawsuit in Boston.