On January 11, 2023, at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system was interrupted. A JetBlue Airways jet was grounded before preparing to land.
Fresh Mike | Reuters
JetBlue Airways On Tuesday, the airline reported a surprising profit and said it would postpone another $3 billion in aircraft spending until 2029 to improve cash flow.
The airline reported second-quarter profit of $25 million, down nearly 82% from the same period last year. Wall Street analysts had expected the company to report a quarterly loss.
JetBlue has not reported an annual profit since before the pandemic. The company has been cutting unprofitable routes and lowering costs in recent months to try to stem losses as it faces higher fees and oversupply in the domestic market.
JetBlue Airways said on Tuesday it has suspended 50 routes and will focus more on flights from New York, New England and Puerto Rico, where the airline has historically performed strongly. The company is also trying to better deploy aircraft with premium seats, such as its Mint aircraft, to maximize revenue.
JetBlue said the changes will help it increase pretax profits by $800 million to $900 million from 2025 to 2027.
The company has delayed the delivery of 44 Airbus A321neo aircraft until 2030 or later. The airline is also affected by the Pratt & Whitney engine recall.
“We have taken and will take aggressive action on all fronts,” Chief Executive Joanna Geraghty said on Tuesday’s earnings call.
Geraghty said on Tuesday the airline was taking additional steps to improve reliability, such as increasing the buffer time on flights. JetBlue consistently ranks last among U.S. airlines in on-time performance.
The airline plans to reduce capacity by up to 6% in the third quarter and 5% for the full year. Even with the cuts, third-quarter revenue is still expected to be down 5.5% from last year, with full-year sales down 6% from 2023.
Airline executives blame an oversupply of capacity for lower-than-expected revenue this summer.
Tuesday’s results and investor reception are a win Geraghtyis a JetBlue veteran who took over in February. Hours after activist investor Carl Icahn takes top job Revealing nearly 10% of shares in the company. he Win two board seats A few days later.
jetblue airways and spirit airlines The parties canceled their merger agreement earlier this year after New York Airways’ plan to acquire the budget airline was blocked by a federal judge. Both players said they face challenges competing with larger rivals.