JetBlue Goes to Europe (With Lufthansa)

When Lufthansa purchased a minority stake in JetBlue nearly two years ago, speculation centered around future codesharing opportunities. But since then, speculation was as far as anyone got. Now, the two airlines finally seem poised to launch a transatlantic codeshare that will allow JetBlue customers to book flights to cities all across Europe.

The deal is still in the hush-hush phase, however, as Lufthansa awaits approval from regulators here in the U.S. But should the deal go through, it would be the first full codeshare for JetBlue, and by my count, the first codeshare to offer transatlantic flights to passengers on a low-cost carrier. JetBlue currently has an agreement with Aer Lingus, but customers must purchase separate tickets.

Details of the codeshare haven’t been released yet, but the two airlines share a lot of cities, meaning the agreement should be fairly broad and seamless. JetBlue and Lufthansa both serve New York (JFK and Newark), Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Los Angeles, Orlando, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Presumably the carriers would offer through-ticketing from most, if not all, of those airports.

My take is that this should give JetBlue a leg up on the competition. The only comparable agreement in place right now is Virgin America‘s link with V Australia, and Virgin obviously lacks the scope of domestic destinations JetBlue provides. But I’ll withhold judgment on the JetBlue/Lufthansa codeshare until we see some details and, more importantly, some fares.

What do you think of the codeshare agreement? Will it make you more likely to fly across the pond? Are JetBlue and Lufthansa a good match? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. Thanks!