JetBlue pushed its average fare up 4 percent year over year
to about $160, citing solid demand as leverage.
That demand supported a domestic fare increase earlier this month,
and JetBlue also raised its premium Mint cabin fares in the second quarter for
the 14th time since
their introduction, commercial and planning EVP Marty St. George said in
the carrier's earnings call. Business markets out of Boston as well as
transcontinental routes, especially those with Mint, were strong during the quarter,
and corporate traffic is growing as routes such as Boston-New York LaGuardia
are "exceeding expectations," he said.
Business travel remains about 20 percent of JetBlue's
overall business, St. George said.
Passenger revenues increased 11 percent year over year to
$1.7 billion in the second quarter as traffic increased 5 percent. JetBlue
increased capacity 4.8 percent year over year during the quarter, and its load
factor increased 0.2 percentage points to 85.2 percent.
The summer has been "challenging" for JetBlue's
operations, particularly in the Northeast, due to weather combined with runway
construction at both Boston Logan and New York's John F. Kennedy International
airports, president and CEO Robin Hayes said. At JFK in particular, Air Traffic
Control ground delays have hit JetBlue's operations about two out of every
three days, compared with less than one out of every three days this time last
year, according to a research note from Cowen and Co. As such, JetBlue is
trimming its capacity plans in the third quarter and "adjusting peak
schedules" to handle the disruptions, Hayes said.
JetBlue also is eying renovations for Terminal 6 and
possibly Terminal 7 at JFK, Hayes said. The carrier has exclusive rights
through the mid-2020s to the Terminal 6 site under its lease with the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
"Our aim is to create a world-class customer experience
while maintaining our cost advantage and maximizing the value of our airport
assets," Hayes said. "We look forward to working with the developer
community, the Port Authority and possibly other airlines to strengthen our
leadership position at JFK."
JetBlue reported a net income of $211 million for the
quarter, up from $181 million in the second quarter of 2016.