JetBlue to cut routes and park planes as it tries to stem losses
JetBlue will cut its route map and park planes in a larger effort to reduce expenses as economic uncertainty takes a toll on its balance sheet.
Joanna Geraghty, CEO of JetBlue, informed staff of the cuts in a memo Tuesday viewed by TPG. She outlined a number of efforts "to rein in spending and preserve cash."
"We're hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won't fully offset the ground we've lost this year and our path back to profitability will take longer than we'd hoped," said Geraghty.
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The memo was first reported by CNBC.
JetBlue, like most U.S. airlines, has seen a slowdown in travel demand that has taken hold since January. Domestic leisure travel was the hardest hit, while premium and international travel remained steady. Although bookings stabilized somewhat in March and April, Geraghty's memo suggests they have yet to return to their January trajectory.
Schedule and route map cuts
JetBlue will "wind down underperforming routes and shift flying to places with profit potential," Geraghty said.
Since the airline unveiled its JetForward turnaround plan last year, JetBlue has exited 15 cities and dropped more than 50 routes. Some of the exits include major markets like Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogota, Colombia, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).
What JetBlue will cut next is unclear. Geraghty said further details will come in the "next few weeks."
"While it's always disappointing to end service it opens the door for us to find new routes to fly," she continued.
JetBlue has already added four new destinations this summer: Norfolk International Airport (ORF) in Virginia; Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) near San Pedro Sula in Honduras; Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) in Traverse City, Michigan; and Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina.
Plans to add Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) in Nova Scotia to the airline's map this summer were axed in May, according to schedules from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
JetBlue will also further reduce flying on low-demand days of the week, particularly Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and reduce the number of flights on routes where it has multiple flights a day, Geraghty said.
The airline had planned flat capacity in 2025 (or no schedule growth compared to 2024) but has not reaffirmed that forecast.
In conjunction with the network cuts, JetBlue will park four older Airbus A320s at the end of the summer that were previously scheduled for retrofits.
Premium investments continue
JetBlue is clear on one front: The investments it is making in its premium offerings are not stopping. It still plans to open its first-ever airport lounge by the end of the year and debut a domestic first-class product in 2026, according to Geraghty.
These efforts, plus JetBlue's new "Blue Sky" partnership with United Airlines, are all part of its JetForward program. The plan unveiled in 2024 is a series of initiatives aimed primarily to boost revenue in order to right the airline's balance sheet and produce stable profits in the future.
JetBlue has yet to realize the potential financial benefits of Blue Sky, which was only announced in May. The pact is unusual in that it focuses on a loyalty tie-up and skips the typical codeshare agreement where each airline places its two-letter identifier code on some of the other carrier's flights.
Blue Sky does create a number of benefits for both airlines: United returns to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with slots from JetBlue, and JetBlue gains a JetBlue TrueBlue partner that gives loyalty members point redemption opportunities to destinations around the globe.
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