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Airline sued by Kosher agency for marking products 'K' without certification

JetBlue added 'K' labels to food that had not been approved by Hescher authority

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - JULY 16: A JetBlue plane prepares to take off from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. JetBlue Airways and American Airlines Group announced they will be creating an alliance between the two companies. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

An American airline has been accused of deceptive trading practices by a Hescher organisation after marking inflight food Kosher without its consent.

JetBlue Airways, a major low-cost airline operating primarily in the US, has been sued in the state of New Jersey for allegedly infringing on the trademarks of Kof-K, a leading Kosher certification agency.

In their lawsuit, Kof-K accused JetBlue of trademark infringement, false designation of origin and deceptive trade practices after a small package of artichokes was labelled as Kosher despite not being approved by the company.

The product in question is part of JetBlue's $9 Mediterranean-themed snackbox which contains a range of products and is labelled as Kosher on their website.

According to documents filed in federal court, Kof-K said that JetBlue's actions were likely to "deceive and confuse the Kosher eating public" and demanded punitive damages from the airline.

However, Kof-K did not dispute the Kosher status of the item but said that as it had not been certified by their agency, the use of the Kof-K logo was erroneous.

In a statement, JetBlue said: “The recent complaint filed is the first we were made aware of Kof-K’s trademark concern. We are currently investigating their claims.”

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