JetBlue aircraft at Washington National Airport, Ronald Reagan. According to the airline, it is still optimistic that the improved summer patterns will continue into the fall.
By adjusting its current quarter projections and raising expectations for sustained demand for air travel through the second half of the year, Jetblue Airways Corp. on Thursday sent a positive message to American airlines.
According to JetBlue (JBLU), “demand for air travel remained strong throughout the summer peak.” “Momentum from earlier in the summer carried forward into August and through the Labor Day holiday, both of which were marked by strength for bookings within 14 days of travel.” The business stated that it was still “encouraged” that these kinds of trends will continue into the fall.
According to a report by Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth, it is encouraging for other U.S. carriers. She said that early booking trends point to sustained momentum until the end of the year.
JetBlue revised its third-quarter guidance to strengthen its average fuel-price estimates and restrict the range for revenue and nonfuel expense projections. The company’s capital-expenditure projection for the quarter was reduced from about $375 million to approximately $325 million.
On Thursday, JetBlue also revealed that it is now the first airline to join Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) Project Kuiper, the retail behemoth’s internet-satellite division that rivals SpaceX.
According to the business, jets equipped with Project Kuiper, a cutting-edge, low-Earth-orbit satellite broadband network, will provide “faster and more reliable connectivity” to onboard wifi.
The first and only major U.S. airline to provide free high-speed internet connectivity on board was JetBlue, which introduced its onboard wifi in 2013. Within two years, the business plans to begin offering Project Kuiper’s service on a few of its aircraft.
This year, JetBlue’s stock has fallen over 33%, while the S&P 500 index SPX has gained roughly 10% and the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS has gained roughly 4%.
