JetBlue Q1 Loss Prompts Scaled-Back Growth Plans

JetBlue Airways met Wall Street analyst expectations for revenue for the first quarter of 2022, but the carrier still lost $255 million from January through the end of March and prompted airline hierarchy to scale back is intended revenue growth for the rest of the year.

JetBlue had its earnings call this morning, featuring CEO Robin Hayes and airline president Joanna Geraghty.

The loss was tempered by optimism, however, as JetBlue hopes that at least some of the culprits for the Q1 loss – staffing shortages, higher fuel prices, and delays and cancellations – will mitigate themselves for what it hopes will be a profitable second quarter in April, May and June.

Delaying and canceling flights costs money, and JetBlue had its fair share of those in the first quarter.

The airline also announced earlier this month that it would trim its summer schedule by as much as 10 percent.

Hayes vowed to take “swift and significant action” to prevent a similar meltdown during the summer flying season, according to Travel Weekly.

Nonetheless, JetBlue’s stock price dropped 11 percent in trading today after announcing that capacity would likely not exceed a five percent growth after initially planning on a 15 percent expansion, according to CNBC.

The summer travel season is expected to be one of the busiest in recent memory for airlines as the mask mandate has been dropped and travel restrictions have been rolled back.