JetBlue is once again exploring a merger or partnership, and this time, it is naming names.
JetBlue may not be a basket case, but it has struggled to consistently generate profits under its current business model. Its blocked merger with Spirit Airlines and the collapse of the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines have left it strategically adrift. I’ve written before about JetBlue’s challenges and the broader implications of consolidation in the U.S. airline industry, and those issues have not gone away. If anything, they’ve intensified.
The airline has long occupied an awkward middle ground: not quite a low-cost carrier, but not a true full-service network airline either. That model can work in good times. It becomes much harder in periods of cost pressure, rising fuel prices, and aggressive competition from both legacy carriers and ultra-low-cost airlines.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
