JetBlue Sued for Withdrawing Fares from Online Travel Agencies
JetBlue is facing a lawsuit for allegedly blocking online travel agencies from displaying its fares. The lawsuit was filed in Brooklyn by Fareportal Holdings Inc, which operates the CheapOair and OneTravel websites.
It claims that JetBlue is trying to steer travelers to its website and charge more. Allegedly, the airline doesn’t want its fares to be displayed alongside other carriers, so it can boost fares along its strongest routes, including to and from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Florida and Puerto Rico. The suit is seeking unspecified damages.
Fareportal also sites the recent $1.8 billion in loans from the U.S. Treasury as part of the COVID-19 pandemic relief as a factor in JetBlue’s decision. It claims the loan has enabled the Long Island City, New York-based carrier to afford losing travelers who book elsewhere.
“JetBlue is using COVID-relief handouts from American taxpayers to take American consumers for a ride,” and “make it difficult if not impossible for travelers to determine the airline that offers the best combination of price and service,” the complaint said, as per Reuters.
Lawsuit Details
The case is Fareportal Holdings Inc et al v JetBlue Airways Corp, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 21-00061. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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if i don’t see their price, i don’t book them. Simple
I’m sure the plaintiff has already filed and won a similar suit against Southwest.
Baseless lawsuit unless they had a contract with no reasonable out then it could potentially be breach of contract. Regardless of what this online travel agency wants, or even what was done in the past, airlines have no obligation to post their fares or allow booking anywhere beyond their own site.
Southwest, for example, typically doesn’t list their fares for sale on 3rd party sites
“Fareportal said JetBlue ended their nearly 20-year relationship after unexpectedly abandoning talks on a multi-year extension.”
No contract or law was broken, just a poor loser who is angry and wants the courts to give them free stuff.