Cape Air, Nantucket team with JetBlue

Cape Air and sister carrier Nantucket Airlines are set to unveil later today a new business partnership with JetBlue Airways Corp.

The partnership between the Hyannis-based airlines and JetBlue is similar to a "code share" arrangement, will allow passengers using the JetBlue website to book flights on Cape Air in and out of Logan International Airport as part of their JetBlue tickets, said a senior airline executive who asked for anonymity because the arrangement is not to be formally unveiled until a New York press conference this afternoon.

From Logan, Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines fly to Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Provincetown; JetBlue flies to 23 destinations around the U.S. and Caribbean.

The arrangement, which starts March 19, offers four principal benefits for passengers: They will in most cases get a lower overall fare than if they booked separate Cape Air and JetBlue tickets, they won't need to get a second boarding pass when changing planes at Logan, they won't have to personally re-check bags when moving between Cape Air/Nantucket and JetBlue flights, and they won't have to go through the security checkpoint at Logan when switching from one airline to the other.

JetBlue and Cape Air occupy adjoining gates at Terminal C at Logan. The arrangement does not yet allow passengers to book JetBlue flights through the Cape Air website, but only Cape Air/Nantucket flights through JetBlue. "We think it's going to stimulate the market for travel to the Cape and islands, both because the fares are going to be better and because of the added convenience around baggage and security,'' said the airline official.

Cape Air, which offers all its service on nine-seat Cessna 402 propeller planes, is the first airline selected by New York-based JetBlue for any kind of code-sharing business partnership. Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines are marketing brands for Hyannis Air Service Inc.

(By Peter J Howe, Globe staff)