Michael Leskinen, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines, may have dropped the biggest hint yet about United’s intention of scooping of JetBlue, though he left plenty of plausible deniability…
JetBlue Merger? United Airlines CFO Says “This Industry Would Benefit From Some” M&A
Speaking at the the Barclays 43rd Annual Industrial Select Conference on February 18, 2026, Leskinen was interviewed by Brandon Oglenski, a Senior Equity Analyst at Barclays. Several parts of the interview were of interest, but perhaps most fascinating was when the discussion turned to mergers and acquisitions.
Oglesnksi: In your opinion, what should United do with excess cash, bolt-on M&A, larger M&A, share repurchases, dividends, debt paydown or internal investment?
Leskinen: That’s a good question.
Oglesnksi: Well, M&A has been a topic at this conference, not specific to airlines, but how do you feel about the environment right now, especially as you’re talking about low-margin airlines having to face economic gravity.
Leskinen: Well, this is a brilliant audience. That’s about how I feel about it, too. I think it’s a unique environment that …where M&A is possible. We’ll see how that plays out. But I do think that this industry would benefit from some.
Read what you want into that exchange. It could be he was talking about Spirt and Frontier not being able to go it alone. But as I read it, it was another subtle but strong hint that United seriously is looking at acquiring JetBlue.
Furthermore, as the Trump administration advances through its second term, I would think that “striking while the iron is hot” is critical. It still isn’t clear if even the Trump administration would bless such a merger rather than oppose it, but should a Democrat be elected in 2028, any hopes of a merger or even a much closer commercial relationship akin to the JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance with American Airlines will be dashed.
It may just be an inkling, but I’m feeling like United is going to make a move for JetBlue…if for no other reason than to ensure that Alaska Airlines (a far better partner for JetBlue in my mind) or American Airlines cannot do it.
Other topics were discussed as well in the wide-ranging discussion.
On International Growth
Leskinen confirmed that Pratt & Whitney powered 777s would be retired this year, offsetting new aircraft delivery:
Some of the international growth, just to address that head on, since you reminded me, we did say that. We do have a few 777s that are Pratt powered, where I do not have parts for those engines. And so those aircraft are going to be grounded in the summer. And so it’s putting a little bit of pressure on our international ambitions in the short term. That will be resolved in 2027.
On the 737 MAX 10
As United takes delivery of more 737 and 787 aircrafts, will aircraft retirement increase? How important is the uncertified 737 MAX 10 for United’s growth plans versus sticking to the 737 MAX 9?
Oglenski: Okay. So should we assume that there’s going to be maybe some accelerated retirements to older aircraft?
Leskinen: We’ll see.
Oglenski: Okay. And as we think about cost performance and the MAX 10 and upgauging, how important is the MAX 10 to your long-term unit cost?
Leskinen: The MAX 9 is a great aircraft. The MAX 10 is incrementally better for us. But we’re going to have a good path forward with either. I am excited about the prospects of the MAX 10. And I think it’s really…it’s built for the United network in a lot of ways. So I think it’s going to be powerful. But our path to double-digit margins is not predicated on it.
On AA In Chicago
Leskinen, like the rest of United’s C-Suite could not help but throw some shade at American Airlines. When asked about the battle for Chicago O’Hare, Leskinen said of AA:
“Temporarily, they have a hub.”
Ouch…
CONCLUSION
As budget carriers struggle and Untied and Delta pull ahead in terms of profitability, we find ourselves in a unique time in the U.S. aviation industry. I can’t shake the feeling that United senses this is a unique opportunity for growth and will at least try to merge with JetBlue at some point in the next year and half. Many details have yet to be worked out and there’s full plausible deniability at this point, but Leskinen’s statements today strike me as very much a hint of what is to come.
Do you think a JetBlue-United merger is likely?
> Read More:
- United And JetBlue Expand Partnership, But Only One Side Earns Elite Status Credit
- DOT Approves United And JetBlue Blue Sky Partnership, Clearing Way For Loyalty Reciprocity
I have a hard time believing that even under Trump it would be approved. But who knows…Kirby just gives him a Gold Trophy and he might foster its approval. The very fact that they would have a stranglehold on the NYC market is an understatement and won’t go unnoticed. And if required to make concessions at JFK I wonder what the point would be for United.
Alaska is a MUCH better fit and would easily be approved. I’m sure UA will make sure though that they pay too much. But the reality is that they would create a viable Number Four Carrier that could challenge everyone. That is if they FINALLY change their name and get out of the provincial branding game with Bob Marley on their tail.
Yeah, I have wondered how Southwest manages with regional branding. But Alaska’s uber-regional branding takes all if it to a new level.
Wow, the Biden DOJ pooped all over the silly Jet Blue/Spirit merger and now United may feel the can effect a merger with substantial NYC implications. The pendulum has swung.
If Jet Blue is really for sale, AA would be a far superior buyer and it would provide AA an opportunity to course correct in the Northeast.
I fully agree that AA would be a better partner than UA.
It seems the groundwork for a future merger has already been laid. For now, it’s just a partnership. The ultimate goal is a merger. UNITED wants something that JetBlue very dearly holds: a strong presence at JFK…
As usual, UA thinks big and plays big… More to come.
I both want it and don’t. My 2 favorite blue airlines? Yes, but I would rather see JetBlue merge with Hawaiian and become the dominant American airline. But that’ll never happen. I hope that if there is a merger, JetBlue will continue just as it has been, but under United’s thumb, or something like that. Like the AS-HA merger.
United doesn’t NEED Jetblue, but it’s a strategic anti-competitive move that gets UA significant access at JFK and BOS, as well as essentially creating a Florida business for them.
But the big opportunity is blocking AS or AA from getting their hands on Jetblue and a merger has seemed pretty inevitable to me since the first signs that there were even backchannel discussions.
UA talks alot and delivers a whole lot less.
There is no planet on which UA is allowed to acquire B6 as it currently exists. None.
and, if that does occur, DL will top it all with an acquisition of Southwest. There is far less overlap between DL and WN than there is between B6 and UA.
and they failed in that diatribe about AA to point out that UA has a $1 billion/year labor cost advantage that will end when UA employees decide that sacrificing their own personal and family finances is not worth it to help UA.
“As budget carriers struggle and Untied and Delta pull ahead in terms of profitability…”
With comparable labor costs to AA, DL and WN, Untied’s profits will be closer to AA than DL
yes, Untied
Even if your number is correct, if UA made $3.8 BN and labor will be an extra billion, how does that put them closer to AA ($111 MN) than Delta?
Tim Dunn says, “There is no planet on which UA is allowed to acquire B6 as it currently exists. None….and, if that does occur…”
Hilarious.
Since when did grounding airplanes mean retiring them?
We will see, won’t we?
Only when UAL has renewed a contract with flight attendants, then UAL would be in a better position to initiate a merger talk with Jetblue.
Or private equity investors would force Jetblue to divide into pieces and sold to different airlines.
United taking over JetBlue would be disastrous for airline passengers in the NYC area, where United already exercises far too much control. Accordingly, this administration will cheerfully agree to such a merger. I can live with Kirby’s petulant slights; United and Delta having a duopoly controlling the NYC market is a different story.
If AA got a lot of gates, I could see this being okay…but I’m 100% against it. I’m not sure JetBlue can go it alone, but if it merges it should be with Alaska.