JetBlue's 'immense change': First class, lounges and credit card highlight airline's pivot
JetBlue Airways doubled down on its coming product improvements for travelers during a call with investors on Tuesday.
Executives from the New York-based carrier talked up many changes, including its new EvenMore product (formerly its Even More Space product) that debuted Tuesday, its premium cobranded credit card set to roll out shortly, the first of its new premium lounges due to open in Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) later this year and the domestic-style, first-class product it plans to unveil in 2026.
JetBlue is going through "immense change," CEO Joanna Geraghty said on the call Tuesday, "and feedback from our customers has been positive."
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The airline needs some change. It lost $897 million last year — its fourth consecutive annual loss since 2019. A failed merger with Spirit Airlines and the unwinding of its American Airlines alliance contributed to those results. And, despite a strategic pivot dubbed "JetForward" and a new management team, JetBlue continues to face numerous challenges. Problems outside of its control include issues with Pratt & Whitney engines on its Airbus A220 and A321neo aircraft, and the air traffic congestion issues in its home Northeast market.
Geraghty and other executives said little new on Tuesday, but they did shed more light on the changes travelers can expect from JetBlue in 2025.
A premium credit card is coming very soon
JetBlue has made many changes to its TrueBlue loyalty program over the past two years to make it more attractive to travelers. It added "tiles" and made it easier for most flyers to earn at least a tier of elite Mosaic status.
The next loyalty addition is a new, premium cobranded credit card. Details are scarce, but JetBlue is widely expected to include points earning levels comparable to, or better than, those of its existing cobranded credit cards. The current cards offer earnings rates up to 6 points per dollar and access to its planned new lounges.
The card will launch at "the end of the month," Geraghty said without specifying if she meant by the end of January — three days hence — or by the end of February in a month's time.
A JetBlue spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry to clarify her comments.
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JetBlue's first lounge is on its way
JetBlue's first branded premium lounge will open at JFK in the "fourth quarter," airline president Marty St. George said on Tuesday.
The lounge is one of two planned for the airline's largest bases: JFK and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). St. George did not say when the new Boston lounge will open.
The airline unveiled the lounge plans last year as part of its larger JetForward effort to boost operating profits by $800 to $900 million by 2027. New premium offerings, including the lounges, are estimated to bring in a roughly $400 million lift.
While details remain limited on the new lounges, we do know that JetBlue plans to open them to people with top-tier Mosaic elite status, customers flying in Mint across the Atlantic Ocean and holders of the aforementioned premium credit card.
Domestic first class is a year away
Those eager to fly JetBlue's new first-class offering shouldn't get too excited yet, though. The product, which will feature a 2-2 seating layout and eventually be offered on all of its non-Mint planes, is not on a fast track to launch.
"There's some [capital expenditure] coming this year which is basically the beginning of the process — seat design, certification, etc," St. George said. "The first install is actually going to be in 2026."
Sales of the new seats, he added, will not begin before 2026 as well.
Premium leisure travel is "healthy and growing, and we are enhancing our suite of products to better serve those customers," St. George said.
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A new airline partnership may be coming
One hit that JetBlue took in recent years was the end of its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. A federal judge halted the pact in May 2023, and the wind-down of joint commercial activities stretched into last year. Now, JetBlue is considering a new domestic partner.
"We're having conversations with a number of carriers right now for future partnerships," Geraghty said. "There's nothing to announce now."
Industry observers think JetBlue could re-up its partnership with American given the shift in antitrust thinking under the light-touch Trump administration.
Challenges continue for JetBlue
There is a lot to look forward to at JetBlue in the coming year. But that does not eliminate the fact that it also faces numerous challenges.
The airline expects issues with P&W engines to worsen in 2025. The average number of aircraft grounded for inspections is set to rise to the "mid-to-high teens" from an average of 11 at a time last year. And, as CFO Ursula Hurley noted, the situation is not forecasted to improve for the "next year or two" — and potentially into 2027.
Air space congestion in the northeastern U.S. is also not expected to ease. The Federal Aviation Administration faces a shortage of several thousand air traffic controllers across the country (though the situation is worst in New York City and other large metro areas). President Donald Trump also recently paused the hiring of new air traffic controllers.
JetBlue continues to face stiff competition in Boston from Delta Air Lines (and others) as well as in Fort Lauderdale from bankrupt Spirit. None of the airlines have made any indication that they intend to retreat in either of the markets.
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