Let A be a Banach algebra and I be a closed ideal of A. We say that A is amenable relative to I, if A/I is an amenable Banach algebra. We study the relative amenability of Banach algebras and investigate the relative amenability of triangular Banach algebras and Banach algebras associated to locally compact groups. We generalize some of the previous known results by applying the concept of relative amenability of Banach algebras, especially, we present a generalization of Johnson's theorem in the concept of relative amenability.