JetBlue Airways beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; co also will expand its Mint experience by bringing 30 additional A321 aircraft into its fleet; co also announces west coast expansion
- Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $1.64 bln vs the $1.64 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
- Revenue passenger miles for Q2 increased 10.3% to 11.6 bln on a capacity increase of 11.1%, resulting in a load factor of 85.0%, a 0.6 point decrease YoY. Yield per passenger mile was 12.87 cents, down 9.9% YoY.
- Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for Q2 decreased 10.5% YoY to 10.94 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 8.2% to 12.09 cents.
- Operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) for Q2 decreased 9.9% YoY to 9.78 cents. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM decreased 1.0% to 7.48 cents.
- Mint expansion: JetBlue announces today it intends to further expand its highly successful Mint experience by amending its purchase agreement with Airbus to bring 30 additional A321 aircraft into its fleet over seven years. The additional aircraft will allow JetBlue to capture an opportunity to position itself as the carrier of choice in transcontinental markets with a targeted approach that leverages its east coast strength. Airbus is scheduled to deliver 15 incremental A321ceos starting in 2017.
- West Coast Expansion: As west coast travelers face reduced options and less competition, JetBlue is quickly moving to organically strengthen its presence on a national scale with a leading transcontinental franchise between the west and east coasts. JetBlue's targeted approach will give the airline increased frequencies in high-value west coast markets, including the Bay Area and Los Angeles, while leveraging the strength of its east coast point of sale. In addition to JetBlue's intention to expand Mint to grow its west coast presence, JetBlue is strengthening its Long Beach (LGB) focus city with new all-core service.
- Outlook: For Q3, CASM excluding fuel and profit sharing is expected to grow between 1% and 3%. For 2016, JetBlue continues to expect CASM excluding fuel and profit sharing to grow between zero and 1.5%. In Q3, capacity is expected to increase between 5.5% and 7.5%. For the full year 2016, JetBlue continues to expect capacity to increase between 8.0% and 9.5%.