JetBlue Airways and Aer Lingus of Ireland will disclose on Friday details of a strategic alliance that was first announced last year, and the Wall Street Journal says the venture is unusual because budget airlines generally avoid such tie-ups because of the cost.

But the two airlines plan to avoid the expense of a big electronic system by simply connecting their websites.

"This is totally new," JetBlue's chief executive, Dave Barger, told the Journal.

Aer Lingus chief executive, Dermot Mannion, told the Evening Herald of Dublin that the deal "changes the face of access to North America for the Irish traveling public."

The alliance will allow passengers to book travel between Ireland and 40 U.S. destinations (the Evening Herald says 51), including Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The deal may help explain the 19 percent stake that Deutsche Lufthansa took in JetBlue late last year. The German airline could be barred from taking over an American airline, but it could take over an Irish one that now has a big gateway into the U.S. market.