United CEO Committed To JFK Return, Compliments JetBlue DNA

We know that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is desperate to have his airline return to New York’s JFK Airport. He has said it for years. We even know that JetBlue and United are planning a partnership, and in recent months, he has said that “the ball is going to be in JetBlue’s court” when it comes to a possible merger.

So while I doubt any of this will come as a surprise, Kirby has made some more interesting comments about JetBlue and JFK this week…

United CEO wants JFK return, compliments JetBlue

Aviation Week reports on some comments that were made by Kirby at this week’s Polaris launch event, as flagged by @xJonNYC. As you’d expect, he was asked a lot of questions about JFK, JetBlue, etc. While he said that he’s not prepared to say “yet what is happening” with a JetBlue alliance, he reportedly made a few other interesting comments.

Regarding JFK, he said the same thing he has said all along, which is how important JFK is to the airline:

“JFK is important to us. One way or another, we need to be back in JFK. I wish United had not pulled out of JFK back in the day.”

He also had nice things about say about JetBlue’s culture, suggesting that it’s similar to United’s:

“I have a lot of respect for JetBlue, because they have the same core customer DNA that we have. We want lifelong customers who believe in United, who love the brand. JetBlue comes from a similar culture and DNA.” 

He even mentioned how JetBlue’s introduction of live TV was a “turning point” in his career, as prior to that, he thought of air travel as a commodity product:

“I originally thought that’s a gimmick. And then I went and flew it, and I watched people, that was a transformational moment for me. They got it right. I was wrong. They got it right. Part of my journey to being the airline CEO really started with watching how successful JetBlue was for customers.“

As a reminder, United first pulled out of JFK after its merger with Continental, around 2010. At the time, the airline consolidated operations at Newark. Then the airline briefly returned to JFK in 2021, but it pulled out in 2022, as it couldn’t get enough slots to make the service work.

Kirby has thought all along that leaving JFK in the first place was a mistake. Obviously Kirby wants United to overtake Delta, and he knows that involves United having a dominant position in New York. For him, JFK is the missing puzzle piece.

What do we make of Kirby’s JetBlue & JFK comments?

Kirby is such an interesting guy, because he’s both very bright, and he doesn’t hold back in sharing what he’s thinking (or saying what he thinks he has to say). Like, given the extent to which there are rumors about JetBlue and United, he really only keeps adding fuel to the fire when it comes to speculation as to how close things could get.

The way Kirby is talking about JetBlue is certainly in line with what you’d expect from a company looking to make an acquisition, and not just an airline with which you plan to have a mild loyalty collaboration.

We have reason to believe that a United and JetBlue arrangement would come in (up to) three phases. The first phase would include a loyalty partnership, the second phase would involve a strategic partnership that would allow United to return to JFK, and the third phase would involve a full acquisition. Of course it’s possible it doesn’t get that far, but clearly that’s the long term vision.

But here’s the struggle I have with United’s return to JFK, without a full-on acquisition. We know that United wants 20 daily slot pairs at JFK, and we know exactly what United wants to use those for — to launch premium transcontinental flights, to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The partnership needs to make sense for JetBlue, and JetBlue simply allowing United to compete in one of its most lucrative markets would make no sense. It would be terrible for JetBlue, actually. Also keep in mind that JetBlue rejected a partnership with American to pursue this partnership with United.

So there has to be more to this, and one certainly wonders how this will all evolve. Of course it’s worth pointing out that Kirby has had nothing but good things to say about the Trump administration. Everyone can make of that what they will, but rarely have we see an airline CEO be so complimentary of any administration.

Bottom line

United CEO Scott Kirby has made more interesting comments about JFK and JetBlue. He has emphasized that United will return to JFK, one way or another, and that he very much respects JetBlue’s DNA and culture. He even states that JetBlue introducing live TV a long time ago changed his impression of what’s important in the industry.

I don’t think any of these comments are surprising, as such. The big question is just when the next shoe will drop, and when we learn the details of what’s next.

What do you make of Kirby’s JFK & JetBlue comments?