American will also expand its summer seasonal flying between LaGuardia and Asheville, North Carolina, to year-round service and add an additional frequency between Boston and Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, American offers only one daily flight between Boston and Louisville.
Critics of the deal claim it acts as a de facto merger between the airlines. The companies face an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department, six states and Washington, D.C., challenging their codeshare agreement. The lawsuit alleges the alliance hurts travel passengers by suppressing competition and will lead to higher fares.
To date, the NEA has resulted in approximately 50 new routes out of JFK, LaGuardia, Boston and Newark, according to the companies. The partnership has also increased frequencies on more than 130 existing routes, increased capacity on 90 nonstop routes and launched 17 new international routes.