JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) has said that disruptions at other US carriers, particularly at Delta Air Lines which was badly impacted by the CrowdStrike systems crash on July 19, have boosted its own capacity and revenue guidance numbers for the third quarter.
The company’s “revenue performance quarter-to-date was benefited by several factors, including improving in-month bookings, particularly in the Latin [American] region, and continued progress from its previously announced USD300 million worth of revenue initiatives. The company also recognised revenue uplift from the re-accommodation of customers affected by other airlines' cancellations due to technology outages in July,” the company said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
The carrier now expects revenue for the third quarter to be between -2.5% and 1.0% year over year compared to the same period in 2023, an improvement versus the previous guidance which expected revenue to fall between 1.5 and 5.5%.
The company is currently implementing a plan to improve its finances, which also includes the delivery deferral of forty-four A321-200Ns initially due from 2025 to 2029 to 2030 and beyond, prioritising the arrival of new Airbus A220s which are replacing the existing E190 fleet (set to be retired by the end of 2025). It is closing 15 destinations by the end of 2024, five of which remain open, set to be closed on October 26 and 27: Charlotte International, Minneapolis St. Paul International, San Antonio International, Burbank, and Tallahassee. And it is in the process of axing 54 routes in the 13-month period until the end of January 2025 “as we reduce unprofitable flying," it said in its second-quarter financial results.
