Is Emirates JetBlue's lucky seven?

Those fearing world domination by Emirates should feel a shiver up their spine with the announcement the Dubai-based carrier is now JetBlue's seventh interline partner.

Well ok, perhaps that's a bit dramatic -- but it's Monday and maybe you need an extra kickstart.

Feel free to disagree, but this tie-up should really make things interesting in New York, which is already turning into a bloodbath.

A growing sentiment in North America, particularly in Canada, is that Emirates is trying to build Dubai into a hub to rival the likes of London, Paris and Frankfurt as a connect point to the Middle East and Asia. 

So as I run through my initial thoughts (and please feel free to tell me if they're correct or incorrect) about this deal, the issue that strikes me is JetBlue's shareholder Lufthansa can't be too pleased about this morning's annoucement.

But while Lufthansa might raise an eyebrow to the announcement, JetBlue has made clear to all stakeholders it intends to fully exploit the "open architecture" of the its JFK hub. Here's how JetBlue chief Dave Barger explained the situation to Airline Business earlier this year.

 

When JetBlue unveiled its partnership with American, speculation mounted about how the new tie-up would affect the relationship which JetBlue and Star Alliance member Lufthansa created in 2007, when the German carrier took a 19% stake in JetBlue and secured two positions on JetBlue's board.

Barger recognises that when Lufthansa finalised its $300 million investment in JetBlue in early 2008, "the timing was very fortuitous" as later that year oil prices reached historical highs of $147 per barrel. He expresses a huge amount of gratitude to Lufthansa for the guidance and board expertise it has supplied to his airline.

Yet, at the same time, he declares JetBlue has remained very consistent with its message to its German Star Alliance shareholder. "What we've always said to Lufthansa is that, as the largest airline at Kennedy and the largest domestic airline in New York, we're attractive to many airlines in terms of partnership opportunities. Does Lufthansa have a point of view? You bet they do."

He would like to think Lufthansa will remain a long-term strategic shareholder in JetBlue. "Of course, they're going to have to make that decision as we move into the future. As we add American and other carriers, that's going to be transparent. We're going to be monetising this opportunity we have at JFK and that should be in Lufthansa's best interest," he explains.

Barger often refers to JetBlue's strategy of partnering with aligned and unaligned carriers at JFK as "open architecture". And while there is no exact replication of the Kennedy model elsewhere in JetBlue's network, Barger does see an opportunity to replicate aspects of the concept in Boston, Orlando and "potentially other real estate".

This deal occurs as American, BA and Iberia are launching their transatlantic joint venture that entails almost hourly shuttle service from JFK to Heathrow and as Delta and its SkyTeam partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia continue to bolster their New York presence. 

Regardless, look for interesting price points from all the players in New York. And something else to support the truly global nature of the business - at some point in one day you'll be able to hop on a Brazilian-made Embraer E-190, transit through New York and board an Airbus A380.