Last year, United and JetBlue announced a new partnership they’re calling “Blue Sky,” a name that’s likely raised some digital eyebrows at the social media app “Bluesky.”
Reciprocal earning and redemption began late last year, and now the previously announced elite benefits are set to begin this week (they don’t appear to be live just yet). Sometime next year, United will return to JFK, where it completely ceased operations in 2022.
Update from Nick 5/18/26: While Reciprocal elite benefits were meant to go live by the end of last week, I have still been unable to select complimentary Preferred Seats for an upcoming United flight, despite having had my JetBlue Mosaic number attached since booking. I reached out to United chat via the app, which is initially an exercise in frustration, as you have to convince the AI chatbot to connect you to a human (it is very much determined not to connect you). However, I succeeded in getting through to a human agent who was able to assign me the “Preferred” Seats I wanted.
They let me know that “The system is currently having difficulty recognizing your benefits with JetBlue”. The agent said that this is a new feature in the system and it may take some time to reflect. The moral of the story is that if you’re not seeing the ability to select Preferred Seats, chat with an agent. They seem equipped to help. Unfortunately, the issue there is that I was hoping to snag extra legroom seats at check-in; needing to chat with an agent is going to slow that process down and decreases the odds that I get those seats (on what will be a long flight where I really want it!).
The rest of the original post follows.
There are some key differences between Blue Sky and the previously-kiboshed “Northeast Alliance” joint venture between American and JetBlue, which drew government ire. The biggest one is that there are no code shares or pricing collaboration involved here, something that was part of the previous dalliance with American. It will be interesting to see if that makes these regulatory skies a little more…blue.
The News
- JetBlue and United have formed a partnership called “Blue Sky.”
- Reciprocal mileage redemption and earning began earlier this year
- Reciprocal elite benefits begin this week and include:
- Priority boarding
- When traveling on JetBlue, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members will board with Group 1; Premier Gold members with Group 2; and Premier Silver members with Group 3
- When traveling on United, Mosaic 2, 3, and 4 members will board with Group 1, and Mosaic 1 members will board with Group 2
- Complimentary access to extra legroom seating at check-in
- Includes EvenMore seating when traveling on JetBlue
- Includes Economy Plus seating when traveling on United
- Priority check-in and security
- Complimentary preferred seat selection after booking
- One free checked bag plus priority bag handling
- Same-day standby options
- Priority boarding
- Starting in 2027, United will have access to up to seven daily JetBlue slots at New York (JFK), while JetBlue will have access to up to eight daily United slots at Newark (EWR)
Blue Sky Elite Benefits Table
The table below describes reciprocal elite benefits. Note that there’s no mention of either premium upgrades or lounge access (perhaps unsurprisingly). However, all elites receive free checked bags, preferred seats at booking, extra legroom seats at check-in, and access to free same-day changes, which is better than what I would have expected:
We thought that these benefits were supposed to be live now, but Nick doesn’t seem to have access to them through
Quick Thoughts
Let’s be honest, JetBlue has been around the block these last few years. The airline hasn’t turned a profit since 2019 and has been searching for a global partner to hitch its primarily North American-based wagon to. That led to the formation of the Northeast Alliance with AA, which was dissolved by court order in 2022. Then JetBlue tried to buy Spirit Airlines, a deal that was also blocked by a federal court.
In 2025, while AA was attempting to reincarnate the Northeast Alliance, rumors of JetBlue playing footsie with United under the table continued to grow. This eventually resulted in American finally throwing up its arms, saying “uncle,” and overtly trying to woo JetBlue elites over to its own program. Now, the United partnership is official.
Blue Sky seems intriguing enough. The reciprocal earning and redemption schemes are underwhelming, while in-flight benefits, although somewhat modest, generously apply to all elite members of both airlines. Most importantly for folks like Greg the Frequent Miler, you’ll finally be able to fly into JFK and connect with other Star Alliance airlines internationally, something that hasn’t been possible since United stopped service to the airport.
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I was not able to select preferred seats on my existing bookings (one award and one TravelBank). Cancelling and rebooking the award flight as of 5/18/26 worked for me to force the recognition of my M1 status with B6, but it looks like I will have to reach out to support to get my TravelBank booking sorted out since rebooking is not an option as the price has gone up since I made the initial reservation. A bit frustrating, but at least my worst fear has not been confirmed — there is some language on the promo page that states the booking has to have been made on JetBlue.com in order to take advantage of reciprocal elite benefits on UA metal, but that does not seem to be the case based on the award booking experience. Just another rocky technology rollout, so much for AI 😉
Will holders of chase United cc be given free checked bags on JetBlue?
No. They do not have elite status just by holding the credit card.
Do flights booked through JetBlue but flown on United (with United MP #) count towards United’s 4 segment minimum requirement even if it doesn’t earn PQF? Thanks!
The lack of reciprocal lounge access makes BlueSky worse than the Northeast Alliance between AA and B6.
Nick must be happy!
The last sentence on cautious optimism sums up my feelings.
As someone who built a nice pile of Jet Blue points on 100k card offers a couple of years ago, but then saw Jet Blue pull out of IAH last year, this certainly can’t hurt me.
But if United plays games with Jet Blue award reciprocity so it merely mimics the Saver Awards-only pattern I often see for partner award availability on United…meh.
The best case scenario for me comes in 2027, and I think it’s likely: A United IAH-JFK flight will get one of the slots.
does “Reciprocal mileage redemption” mean I will be able to use my Jet Blue points to book a flight with United?
Yes..
What is not public yet, is the redemption rate.
It’s tough to see how United having control of not only Newark as a fortress hub but controlling a huge chunk of JFK is even remotely beneficial for the flying public. The Big 3 already have far too much power. I suspect making New York City an airline duopoly wasn’t quite the goal of deregulation.
That name will be changing soon because of Jack Dorsey’s social media company.
Anyways I wonder if they’ll share status ?
Just add “Friendly” and voila no more trademark issues and it encompasses both airlines; UA’s “Fly the Friendly Skies” and B6 “True Blue”
Meanwhile AA still has unused slots at JFK . . . and routes (some) Europe-bound traffic through DFW. That’s network planning for you.
Is that sarcasm or praise?