American Airlines argues for right to have partnerships in JetBlue appeal

American Airlines Group pushed a federal appeals court to overturn a decision invalidating its partnership with JetBlue Airways Corp., saying the ruling would prevent the airline from entering into future joint ventures. Gregory G. Garre, a lawyer for American, said the trial judge’s decision to invalidate the Northeast Alliance rested on a legal misunderstanding of how the antitrust laws operate. Eliminating JetBlue as a competitor “in itself is not anti-competitive,” Garre told a three-judge panel on the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. “You have to link it to actual consumer harm in the marketplace in the form of increase in price or output reduction.” Following a trial, US District Judge Leo Sorokin found that the Northeast operating alliance between the two airlines violated antitrust laws. American and JetBlue said they created the agreement to compete more effectively in the New York City and Boston areas with Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. After the ruling, JetBlue ended its fight for the partnership but American appealed. At Monday’s argument, Garre said the injunction issued by Sorokin would prevent American from entering into future partnerships for the next 10 years.<br/>