Issue Summary

JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have a lot in common. Both are narrowbody-only operators with reputations for good customer service. Both have networks that combine lots of shorthaul northsouth coastal flying with longhaul transcontinental routes. Both are big on partnerships with foreign airlines. Both count Delta as their closest competitor. Both tried to buy Virgin America. And central to the success of both airlines are two cities, respectively, 2,500 miles apart yet similar in many ways.