By Doyinsola Oladipo and Anshuman Tripathy
Jan 27 (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways on Tuesday posted a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, citing factors including inclement weather and the government shutdown, and the carrier’s shares tumbled 8% in afternoon trading.
The New York-based airline said the quarter was marked by a high volume of unforeseen external events, but premium category growth helped to boost revenue as U.S. carriers look to high-end products and loyalty programs to offset tepid main cabin demand in 2026.
“Macro uncertainty pressured industry demand last year and impacted results,” said CEO Joanna Geraghty on an earnings call, adding that this impeded the airline’s path to restoring operating profitability last year.
MORE PREMIUM REVENUE IN 2026
JetBlue posted an adjusted loss of 49 cents per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with a year-ago loss of 21 cents per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 45 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The carrier’s operating expenses per available seat mile, excluding fuel, rose 6.7% year-on-year during the quarter due to disruptions including the government shutdown and the Airbus Airworthiness Directive. The airline also said fuel prices were a headwind during the quarter.
JetBlue posted operating revenues of $2.24 billion for the October-to-December period, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.23 billion, due to a recovery in domestic demand and its premium growth strategy.
“The majority of our RASM (revenue per available seat mile) beat was driven by underlying demand strength, coupled with loyalty, ancillaries, and other revenue exceeding expectations,” said Geraghty. Such initiatives included the release of the company’s premium credit card.
JetBlue forecast RASM – an industry metric commonly known as unit revenue, and a proxy for pricing power – between 0% and 4% for the first quarter and 2% to 5% for the full year.
The company is looking to capture more premium revenue in 2026 with plans to launch a domestic first class, open a second lounge in Boston this year and grow its operations in Fort Lauderdale.
The airline said it expects to break even in 2026, and sees capacity growth between 2.5% and 4.5%.
“The macro backdrop is improving, we’re excited to be growing again, our operation is performing at a level we haven’t seen in years,” said JetBlue President Marty St. George.
NO MATERIAL IMPACT FROM STORM PREDICTED
JetBlue said it does not expect a material impact from the winter storm that is disrupting air travel across a wide swath of the U.S. The carrier has canceled about 1,100 flights, fewer than American Airlines which has canceled more than 9,000 flights in the largest weather-related disruption in its history.
JetBlue expects on average mid-single-digit numbers of aircraft to be grounded in 2026 due to problems with RTX’s Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine. The airline said it was still working on a settlement with RTX, “we’re focused on getting what we believe we deserve,” but the amount is not meaningful to whether or not JetBlue achieves its full year guidance, an executive said on the earnings call.
Peer Alaska Airlines last week forecast full-year profit below analysts’ expectations, citing seasonality, fuel-price volatility and economic uncertainty.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Jan Harvey, Mark Potter and David Gregorio)
