In the Washington Post’s article titled “Justice Department wins bid to block American, JetBlue alliance,” the federal judge’s decision to order American Airlines and JetBlue Airways to dismantle their partnership in the Northeast is discussed. AAI’s President Diana Moss emphasized the significance of revenue-sharing in the arrangement. Moss explained that when airlines share revenue, it eliminates the incentive for competition since it would be like taking from one to benefit the other. She differentiated the Northeast Alliance from mere schedule coordination, stating that the sharing of revenue between American and JetBlue hindered competition in the domestic air travel market. AAI has been actively advocating against this codeshare arrangement, both at the Department of Justice and Department of Transportation. From the article:
Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute, a nonprofit that seeks to promote competition, said the Northeast Alliance was different because the carriers didn’t just coordinate schedules, but also shared revenue.
“When you share revenue, you immediately eliminate the incentive to compete against each other, because if you did, it would be like robbing Peter to pay Paul,” she said.
