JetBlue Finds New Revenues as Pilot Shortage Takes Its Toll
Photo Caption: JetBlue has reset its growth plans amid long-term pilot staffing issues. JetBlue Airways
Skift Take
JetBlue is struggling to find positive news after operational issues forced it to cancel roughly 10 percent of its flights in April, and scale way back on summer flying. The pilot shortage has come home to roost with some asking if JetBlue is now just a stepping stone for crew members on their way to bigger airlines.
JetBlue Airways had few things to celebrate during its first-quarter results call. Executives were put to task about the airline’s April operational meltdown and the added costs it expects this summer to avoid further snafus.
The New York-based carrier cancelled roughly 10 percent of its schedule during the first three weeks of April, or equivalent to roughly 2,250 flights based on Cirium schedule data. The situation has made JetBlue a pariah among its U.S. peers in forecasting a second-quarter loss while the rest of the industry appears poised to return to the black.
But there was a bright spot for the airline: revenue momentum is building and ancillaries — fees for things like an extra legroom seat to priority boarding — jumped in the first quarter. JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty said Tuesday that ancillary revenues increased 70 percent during the March quarter compared to 2019. This increase in ancillary revenues, which JetBlue does not break out from other passenger revenues, and the higher airfares airlines are commanding mean total revenues are on track to jump as much as 20 percent in the second quarter before a four point hit from the April issues.
“We are set to generate our best quarterly revenue results in the second quarter and are positioned to accelerate this momentum through the summer,” Geraghty said. JetBlue
