How Did JetBlue Perform Operationally In March?
JetBlue Corporation (NYSE:JBLU) reported a remarkable performance in almost all of its key metrics in the March 2017 period, except the one most watched, that is, unit revenues. The carrier grew its capacity at a rate of 4.2% y-o-y in March, bringing the year to date capacity growth to 4.2%, much higher than its peers. In terms of traffic, revenue passenger miles were up 2.9% y-o-y in March, and 3.9% for the entire quarter. Similarly, departures or passengers boarded also increased 5.9% y-o-y, and 5.5% in the March quarter. However, the load factor was down by 110 bps to 85.7%. This decline in load factor, in addition to the expected decline in unit revenues, may negate the effect of increasing capacity on the company’s revenues in the upcoming quarterly results.
Despite the improvement in traffic, the unit revenues declined -4.8% in the March quarter. This is, in part, owing to the company’s continued capacity growth, and, in part, due to the 7 point impact from the timing of Easter holiday. However, JetBlue expects April’s unit revenues to be much better than March. On a side note, the company announced its decision to no longer report monthly PRASM figures. Although a number of airlines do not report PRASM figures on a monthly basis, the move away from transparency shows that all is not well on the pricing side.
Have more questions about JetBlue Corporation (NYSE:JBLU)? See the links below:
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- What Are The Initiatives Undertaken By JetBlue To Ensure Sustained Growth?
- JetBlue’s Operations In Boston And Its Struggle To Maintain Dominance
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- What’s Next For JetBlue Stock After A Sharp 19% Fall Post Q1 Results?
- Gaining Over 20% This Year, What Lies Ahead For JetBlue Stock Following Q1 Results?
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- Will JetBlue Stock Recover To Its Pre-Inflation Shock Highs?
Notes:
1) The purpose of these analyses is to help readers focus on a few important things. We hope such lean communication sparks thinking, and encourages readers to comment and ask questions on the comment section, or email content@trefis.com
2) Figures mentioned are approximate values to help our readers remember the key concepts more intuitively. For precise figures, please refer to our complete analysis for JetBlue Corporation
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