American, JetBlue Must Face Antitrust Suit by US, Six States

JetBlue Airways Corp. and American Airlines Group Inc. must face antitrust litigation from the Justice Department and several states after a federal judge denied the companies’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The US government’s complaint plausibly alleged that the alliance between the airlines, dubbed the Northeast Alliance, is likely to harm competition, Judge Leo S. Sorokin of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote Thursday in his denial of the motion.

Other issues raised in the airlines’ dismissal motion—such as the definition of the New York market and whether the alliance will increase competition that otherwise wouldn’t ...