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JetBlue Airways said Wednesday that it will end its partnership in the northeastern U.S. with American Airlines after a federal judge ordered the carriers to end the agreement, as the New York airline focuses on its acquisition of Spirit Airlines instead. American said in June that it would challenge the ruling against the JetBlue partnership — called the Northeast Alliance, or NEA — but New York-based JetBlue said Wednesday it would not appeal the decision. That ruling was the result of a 2021 lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, six states and the District of Columbia to block the alliance, calling it anticompetitive. “Despite our deep conviction in the procompetitive benefits of the NEA, after much consideration, JetBlue has made the difficult decision not to appeal the court’s determination that the NEA cannot continue as currently crafted,” JetBlue said. JetBlue said it has started terminating the agreement, “a wind down process that will take place over the coming months.” JetBlue said it will “now turn even more focus to our proposed combination with Spirit.” JetBlue’s deal to buy Spirit came together after JetBlue and American launched the Northeast partnership. The NEA, approved during the last days of the Trump administration, allows the two carriers to share passengers and revenue and to coordinate schedules. American and JetBlue said they needed the deal to better compete against big carriers such as United and Delta in congested airports in the New York area and in Boston. But a federal judge ruled in May that that partnership was anticompetitive, ordering the two airlines to undo the alliance. American Airlines said Wednesday that it will still appeal the ruling.<br/>

Qatar Airways on Wednesday reported $1.2b in profits over the past year, buoyed by its role in ferrying fans to the soccer World Cup. The long-haul airline increased its revenue to $21b, a 45% increase over the previous year, it said. Its yearly passenger load reached 31.7m, a 71% increase. The airline said it transported 1.4m passengers to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It also expanded its network to more than 160 destinations. Qatar Airways operates out of a gleaming new airport in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and competes with long-haul carriers Emirates and Ettihad, which operate out of the nearby United Arab Emirates. Qatar Airways made it through the pandemic’s hardest months with a $3b lifeline from the Qatari government. Its main competitor, Dubai’s flagship Emirates Airline, also received a multibillion-dollar payment by the Dubai government during the pandemic. The two airlines serve as economic mainstays for their respective countries, which rely heavily on tourists and transit passengers. The Qatari airline’s brand is familiar to European soccer fans, where it has partnerships with FC Bayern München and Paris Saint-Germain. In the United States, it has a brand partnership with the Brooklyn Nets.<br/>