JetBlue Airways said Tuesday that the airline might seek incremental secured debt financing if fuel prices remain elevated.
Executives, speaking on a quarterly earnings call, said the company has room to raise additional capital on the $500 million aircraft-backed loan it obtained in April. The credit agreement governing that loan would provide for up to $250 million of additional financing, they said.
If the airline needs liquidity beyond that, it would look to do another round of aircraft financing, executives said. They added that the airline is "on path" to generate positive cash flow next year.
New York-based JetBlue recorded a bigger loss in the second quarter stemming from higher jet fuel prices, though it blunted about half of that damage with higher fares and strong customer demand.
The carrier posted a loss of $247 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with a loss of $74 million, or 21 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting a slightly bigger loss of 69 cents a share.
Operating revenue rose 14.5% from a year earlier to $2.7 billion, clearing analyst estimates for $2.69 billion.
Demand strengthened across nearly all of the company's seat tiers and geographies, JetBlue said. The top-line gains, driven by higher prices and a 3.2% increase in capacity, allowed the company to recapture nearly 50% of the increase in fuel costs during the quarter.
Airlines have been raising fares to mitigate the impact of inflated fuel prices since the war in Iran sent oil prices surging earlier this year. JetBlue said the average price of fuel last quarter was $4.23 a share, a 76% jump from the same quarter in 2025.
The company is expecting fuel prices to remain elevated at an average of $3.49 a gallon in the current quarter.
While the fuel inflation battered JetBlue's bottom line last quarter, improvements on the demand front are setting the company up for profitability ahead, the company said.
The company on Tuesday set a long-term goal of hitting earnings of $1 a share by 2028, assuming an average jet fuel price of $3 that year and that demand holds steady.
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