JetBlue Airways Corporation reported first quarter 2021 revenue was down 61 percent from the first quarter of 2019 because of the pandemic’s impact, the lower end of its expectations for the quarter.
“While we initially anticipated trends improving during the quarter, we saw a bigger than expected step up in demand for leisure travel beginning in mid-February,” JetBlue President and Chief Operating Officer Joanna Geraghty said in the release.
All in, JetBlue reported an adjusted loss per share of $1.48 on $733 million in total operating revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The results exceeded analyst expectations of a $1.69 loss per share on $682.79 million in revenues.
“Although our EPS [earnings per share] remains in negative territory, we have seen meaningful progress in the demand recovery, and have started to gain momentum from the groundwork we have laid to emerge from the crisis as a stronger JetBlue,” Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes said in the release.
JetBlue said it concluded the first quarter of 2021 with about $3.2 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.