American Airlines and JetBlue will begin selling codeshare routes next week as the carriers prepare to add new service in the coming months as part of their partnership.
Beginning Feb. 25, American Airlines customers can access 49 JetBlue routes via codeshare, and JetBlue customers will have access to 25 American routes. Their codesharing initially will focus on domestic, point-to-point markets. They plan to add more markets in the Northeast "regularly throughout the first half of this year" as well as upcoming new international routes.
American is adding several new international routes from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, including three to Colombia on May 6: Cali, Bogota and Medellin. American also will begin three flights per week to Santiago, Chile, from JFK on May 6, as well as Saturday service to both Turks and Caicos and St. Lucia on June 5.
In addition, American is adding 12 new domestic routes from New York and Boston this summer: from Boston to each Asheville, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Traverse City, Mich.; and Wilmington, N.C.; from LaGuardia to each Kansas City, Mo.; Key West, Fla.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; Rapid City, S.D.; and Savannah, Ga.; and from JFK to Orange County, Calif.
JetBlue, meanwhile, is adding two new U.S. markets from JFK—Boise, Idaho, and Glacier Park International Airport in Montana—in early July as well as new service to several markets from New York's area airports. Those include: from Newark to each Antigua; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Cartagena; Martha's Vineyard, Mass.; Nantucket, Mass.; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Seattle; St. Lucia; and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and from LaGuardia to Denver, Martha's Vineyard and Charleston, S.C.
Both carriers also will expand service on several domestic routes beginning in April.
This week, the partnership also hit a snag as JetBlue's pilots voted to reject an agreement that would give the carrier relief in restrictions on codeshares and joint-venture agreements per their collective bargaining agreement, concerned that it did not provide sufficient job security. The pilots' union on Wednesday said it was ready to meet with JetBlue leadership to discuss the partnership and negotiate an agreement, a spokesperson told Forbes.