Item 8.01 Other Events.
On September 21, 2021, the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”), along with the Attorneys General of each of the States of Arizona, California, and Florida, the Commonwealths of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts against JetBlue Airways Corporation (“JetBlue”) and American Airlines, Inc. (“American” and, together with JetBlue, the “Carriers” and each a “Carrier”) concerning the Carriers’ previously implemented Northeast Alliance (the “NEA”). The lawsuit asserts and seeks an adjudication that the NEA violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and that the Carriers be permanently enjoined from continuing and restrained from further implementing the NEA.
On July 15, 2020, JetBlue entered into the Northeast Alliance Agreement (the “NEA Agreement”) with American creating a strategic relationship designed to optimize each Carrier’s network through certain flights operated by each Carrier to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport (collectively, the “NEA Airports”). In connection with the entry into the NEA, the Carriers entered into a Codeshare Agreement, a Mutual Growth Incentive Agreement and certain other related agreements. Following an extensive review, the U.S. Department of Transportation (the “DOT”) terminated its review of the NEA in January 2021 after JetBlue and American entered into certain binding commitments with the DOT.
The Carriers established the NEA to unlock capacity growth and customer benefits neither could achieve independently and to better compete in the Northeast.
JetBlue believes the lawsuit is without merit and, along with American, intends to defend itself vigorously.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K contain various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These statements are intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this document and in documents referred to herein, the words “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “indicates,” “believes,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “targets” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the DOJ and certain state Attorneys General against us related to our Northeast Alliance entered into with American Airlines; the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic and the outbreak of any other disease or similar public health threat that affects travel demand or behavior; restrictions on our business related to the financing we accepted under the CARES Act; our significant fixed obligations and substantial indebtedness; risk associated with execution of our strategic operating plans in the near-term and long-term; the recording of a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets; our extremely competitive industry; volatility in financial and credit markets which could affect our ability to obtain debt and/or lease financing or to raise funds through debt or equity issuances; volatility in fuel prices, maintenance costs and interest rates; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our ability to implement our strategy; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our culture as we grow; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers, including for aircraft, aircraft engines and parts and vulnerability to delays by those suppliers; our dependence on the New York and Boston metropolitan markets and the effect of increased congestion in these markets; our reliance on automated systems and technology; our being subject to potential unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs; our presence in some international emerging markets that may experience political or economic instability or may subject us to legal risk; reputational and business risk from information security breaches or cyber-attacks; changes in or additional domestic or foreign government regulation, including new or increased tariffs; changes in our industry due to other airlines' financial condition; acts of war or terrorism; global economic conditions or an economic downturn leading to a continuing or accelerated decrease in demand for air travel; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; and external geopolitical events and conditions. It is routine for our
internal projections and expectations to change as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections, beliefs and assumptions upon which we base our expectations may change prior to the end of each quarter or year.
Given the risks and uncertainties surrounding forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including but not limited to, the Company's 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K. Other than as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.