JetBlue passenger revenue increased 10.8 percent year over year in the third quarter to $1.94 billion. The carrier faced a 48.4 percent year-over-year increase in fuel costs during the quarter, but CEO Robin Hayes said it offset some of that with higher ancillary revenue and fare increases over recent months. JetBlue's average fare for the quarter was $175.66, up 2.5 percent year over year.
JetBlue also is adjusting its network to boost revenue, moving capacity to focus on three markets: New York's John F. Kennedy International, Boston and Fort Lauderdale. As it does, it is ending service to Washington Dulles; Daytona Beach, Fla.; and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It's also cutting back capacity to Mexico City from both Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and making its service to Portland, Maine, seasonal instead of year-round, EVP of commercial and planning Marty St. George said.
In the longer term, JetBlue plans to introduce more segmentation in its fares, including a basic economy-style product sometime next year, executives said at an investor event this month. JetBlue is looking to partner with "key travel agency partners" for direct connections based on the International Air Transport Association's New Distribution Capability standard, they said.
During the third quarter, JetBlue's traffic rose 9.7 percent year over year as capacity increased 8.7 percent, pushing load factor up 0.8 percentage points to 85.9 percent. Yield rose 1 percent.
JetBlue reported a net income of $50 million during the quarter, down from $181 million in the third quarter of 2017. The third quarter of 2018 included $112 million in costs related to a recently signed contract with pilots and the carrier's transition away from its E190 fleet.
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