October 24, 2007
JetBlue Airways returned to third-quarter profitability on stronger revenue, nearly doubling Wall Street forecasts.
The airline posted net income of USD$23 million, compared with a net loss of USD$500,000 in the comparable year-ago period.
The carrier saw its fares rise 7 percent on average, which helped drive a 21.9 percent increase in operating revenue in the quarter. JetBlue filled 82 percent of its seats compared with 80.4 percent a year earlier.
JetBlue Chief Executive Dave Barger said that bookings for Thanksgiving are strong and the carrier expects similar demand for the December holidays.
Unit revenue growth — a key measure of revenue performance — is forecast at between 2 percent and 4 percent for the fourth quarter, and 5 percent and 7 percent for the full year.
JetBlue expects an operating margin in the fourth quarter of 3 percent to 5 percent.
Barger also said the launch of Virgin America in September on transcontinental routes out of San Francisco and Los Angeles cut into JetBlue’s West Coast business. He did not provide specifics but said the impact did not exceed expectations.
(Reuters)