JetBlue Airways has reported traffic in March 2019 increased 7.9% from March 2018, on a capacity increase of 12.6%. Load factor for March 2019 was 85.3%, a decrease of 3.7 points from March 2018. JetBlue’s preliminary completion factor for March 2019 was 98.4% and its on-time performance was 73.8%.
JetBlue revised its first quarter RASM to show that it is expected to decrease approximately 3.1% year-over-year, versus the prior guidance range of negative 1.5 to negative 3.5 percent. Higher than expected completion factor negatively impacted first quarter RASM by approximately 0.75 points.
CASM ex-fuel growth for the first quarter is expected to be at or below the lower end of the airline’s initial guidance range of 1.5 to 3.5 percent. Higher than expected completion factor similarly reduced CASM ex-fuel by approximately 0.75 points.
JetBlue expects the price of jet fuel for the first quarter to range between $2.05 and $2.06 per gallon. Its fuel consumption is expected to be broadly in line with original guidance of 215 million gallons for the quarter.