The pilots of JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK), represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), have filed a lawsuit against the company, asking the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York to compel it to fully arbitrate all aspects of a contractual grievance filed over the carrier’s Blue Sky arrangement with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare).

The union believes the Blue Sky partnership violates job protections in the JetBlue pilot contract. The pilots filed a grievance to remedy the violations, but the airline’s management chose to “deny pilots any effective hearing [...] asserting falsely that the arbitration board lacks jurisdiction over key aspects of the dispute,” it said in a statement.

“Federal law is clear: Contract disputes, like the pilots’ grievance in this case, must go to arbitration,” ALPA said, adding that the pilots went through the legally prescribed channels, but because JetBlue refuses to be held accountable, the next step is to “hold them accountable in court.”

Blue Sky is an interline agreement between JetBlue and United, announced in 2025 as the companies sought closer collaboration without entering a potential partnership that could be seen as “anti-competitive”, despite complaints by low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. It has drawn comparisons to the struck-down Northeast Alliance joint venture JetBlue had with American Airlines until 2023.

JetBlue Airways was not immediately available for comment at the time of writing.