JetBlue and Aer Lingus recently announced a partnership between the two airlines. Beginning April 3, customers of both carriers will be able to book connecting flights on some of each others’ routes. JetBlue customers will be able to connect at New York JFK to Aer Lingus flights to Ireland on a single reservation ticket whereas Aer Lingus passengers can connect to more than 40 of JetBlue’s destinations in the U.S. via JFK. The Wall Street Journal writes “the alliance is unusual because budget airlines generally shun cooperation with other carriers. Traditional airlines routinely use such tie-ups to increase the number of destinations they can offer and thereby appeal to more travelers.”

We asked David Canty, Director of Loyalty Marketing at JetBlue Airways whether he expects a reciprocal frequent flyer relationship to develop from the alliance. While no arrangement has yet to be made, he said “We are excited about the Aer Lingus partnership and we do believe that this will allow us to bring new benefits to our TrueBlue customers. We will be exploring the possibilities with our Aer Lingus colleagues.”