JetBlue secures Amsterdam slots; European Commission hails win for competition

The European Commission said on Monday it will not press forward with punitive actions against Schiphol Airport now that it has been decided that U.S. passenger airline JetBlue Airways will be able to continue operating from the Amsterdam airport. The European Commission said they were pleased with the development, as it protects competition in the transatlantic market, particularly on the Amsterdam-New York route.

JetBlue’s entry in late 2023 on the Amsterdam-New York and Amsterdam-Boston routes ensured that consumers would have more choice and access to transatlantic travel, the European Commission said. However, initial slot allocation at Schiphol amid plans to reduce flight movements at the airport threatened the continuation of JetBlue operations starting with the opening of the summer travel season in March 2024.

“The Commission stood ready to intervene with interim measures in case JetBlue did not secure appropriate access to Amsterdam airport for the IATA Summer 2024 Season,” the European Commission said. This concern stemmed from past investigations into similar airline partnerships, where reduced competition harmed consumers.

Over the past 15 years, the Commission has investigated several joint ventures regarding passenger flights between Europe and the Americas. These include joint ventures with Oneworld Alliance airlines, like American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair and Iberia, the Star Alliance, with Air Canada, United Airlines and Lufthansa, and TAJV, a joint venture made up of Skyteam airlines from the Air France-KLM Group, Alitalia and Delta.

The latter is now known as Blue Skies, which replaced Alitalia with Virgin Atlantic. “JetBlue’s entry revived competition to the benefit of consumers between the three airlines offering direct transatlantic services at Amsterdam airport, namely: two Blue Skies members (KLM and Delta) and United Airlines,” the Commission stated.

The situation was resolved after pressure from the United States and the European Commission. Through further negotiations, JetBlue secured the necessary slots to continue operating throughout the summer season, ensuring passengers will maintain options amidst high demand for transatlantic travel.

Even after the Dutch government was forced to stop and reassess its plans to cut down on air traffic at Schiphol Airport, it still seemed JetBlue could lose its recently-gained access to Amsterdam. The airport is the second-busiest in the European Union, behind Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

The airline asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to get involved on its behalf, calling for Dutch airlines to lose access to airports in the United States as retaliation. Between limits to JetBlue and other airlines based in the United States, it was estimated that KLM could potentially be stripped of up to 1,135 slots at U.S. airports.

“The Commission will continue its monitoring ahead of the IATA Summer 2025 Season,” the organization stated.