JetBlue president urges airlines to follow customers on AI booking, despite cost fears

Airlines should accommodate AI booking assistants if travelers prefer them, JetBlue President Marty St. George said on November 11, 2026. Speaking after United said it would restrict bots’ access, he acknowledged airlines’ misgivings but argued that customer choice should guide their response—even if another layer between airline and traveler eventually brings new costs.

St. George made the comments at the Skift Commerce Summit in New York, Reuters reported. He said he understood why airlines might find AI-powered booking intermediaries intimidating.

United cited data security in its decision to restrict AI bots’ access to its digital platforms. It warned that customers sharing account credentials with third-party assistants could expose sensitive information and risk unintended purchases, account changes or unauthorized use of frequent-flyer miles. Its concerns center on the access customers give outside software when they allow an assistant to act through an airline account.

A familiar distribution cost, with a new intermediary

St. George’s commercial concern was who gets paid when an assistant directs a traveler’s purchase. He warned that AI intermediaries could eventually seek compensation for bringing bookings to airlines, creating an additional expense for carriers. He described that prospect as money airlines are not spending today.

He compared the prospect with online travel agencies, which he described as another distribution channel that carries costs and is not always beneficial for airlines. “It's a channel that has a cost, which jetblue.com does not,” he said.

JetBlue also prefers maintaining direct relationships with customers, St. George said, because that helps it market its full range of products. Beyond the potential cost of attracting a booking, his remarks identified a separate benefit of keeping the relationship between traveler and airline direct.