JetBlue has reported a net loss of $143 million for the third quarter of 2025, widening from $60 million a year prior. Operating loss for the period widened from $38 million last year to $100 million.
The airline said it was optimistic that demand trends will continue to improve in the fourth quarter.
“We are optimistic the demand environment will continue to improve through the end of the year,” said JetBlue president Marty St. George. “Peaks are expected to remain strong while troughs remain challenging, and we continue to expect relatively stronger demand for our premium offerings versus core.”
Fourth quarter unit revues were expected to be flat to down 4% in the fourth quarter, while unit costs excluding fuel are expected to be up 3-5%. Fuel prices are expected to be $2.33 to $2.48 per gallon. Capital expenditure for the fourth quarter is expected to be around $300 million.
The company said it expects “no meaningful impact” from the US Government shutdown. Additionally, as Jamaica faces Hurricane Melissa, the company noted that it does not expect an impact from the storm, with Jamaica representing around 2.6% of its capacity in the fourth quarter.
Full year capacity is expected to be flat to down 2%. Unit costs excluding fuel is expected to be up 5-6%. Full year capital expenditure is expected to be around $1.1bn.
The company also said its ‘JetForward’ improvement plan is on track to hit its incremental EBIT target of $290 million for 2025.
The airline estimates the strategy will bring between $800 and $900 million of incremental EBIT from 2025 through 2027.
Beginning next year, capital expenditure is expected to decline through the end of the decade – trending at or below $1bn annually as the strategy continues to ramp.
Additionally, the company’s ‘Blue Sky’ collaboration with United Airlines is expected to drive its path to profitability.
“Loyalty reciprocity and cross selling are two of the largest drivers of value from Blue Sky, and we expect a successful implementation of both to generate significant earnings momentum for JetForward,” said St. George in the earnings call. “Later in 2026, we plan to launch reciprocal loyalty benefits and Paisly integration driving high margin growth and additional value to the partnership.”
Paisly is the relaunch of JetBlue Travel Products and is a “full-service, tech-enabled managed travel services company”. Paisly serves JetBlue customers, as well as customers for other airlines.
Unit costs in 2026 are expected to be low single digits, supported by low- to mid-single digit capacity growth. Capital expenditure is expected to be below $1bn next year.
The deliveries of its Airbus A220s next year as well as the return of grounded aircraft is expected to support the capacity growth next year.
JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said the GTF engine challenges “have improved” and noted that, back in January, the airline expected aircraft on ground (AOG) as a result of the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engine inspections to be in the mid- to high-teens for the year. Instead, AOG is expected to average at nine for 2025. As of today, the company had six aircraft grounded.
Additionally, the airline retired its remaining 12 Embraer E190 aircraft during the third quarter. The company noted this “completes our transition to a more customer friendly onboard product and cost efficient all-Airbus fleet”.
JetBlue’s total revenues for the third quarter totalled $2.3bn, down 1.8%. Passenger revenues were down 2.9% to $2.1bn, while other revenues were up 12% to $187 million. Operating expenses were flat at a positive 0.8%, totalling $2.4bn.