JetBlue (JBLU) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Motley Fool Transcribing, The Motley Fool

Tue, April 28, 2026 astatine 10:54 AM CDT 44 min read

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Date

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 astatine 10 a.m. ET

Call participants

• Chief Executive Officer — Joanna Garrity

• President — Marty St. George

• Chief Financial Officer — Ursula Hurley

Full Conference Call Transcript

Joanna Garrity: Thank you, Koosh. Good morning, and convey you for joining JetBlue's archetypal 4th 2026 net call. I privation to statesman by thanking our unit members for their continued [inaudible] during what has been different challenging commencement to the year. And I besides privation to admit the TSA agents for their committedness during this shutdown. This archetypal 4th included aggregate wintertime storms and TSA disruptions, but done it all, we are grateful our teams remained focused connected delivering a harmless and reliable work for our customers. The struggle successful the Middle East and its interaction connected substance prices is the astir important headwind we look arsenic an manufacture since COVID.

Given the crisp summation successful the terms of substance and the anticipation for elevated prices passim this year, we are suspending our anterior full-year guidance arsenic we aggressively set to the evolving macro backdrop. I privation to beryllium clear: suspending our full-year guidance reflects outer factors unsocial and not a alteration successful the beardown advancement of Jet Forward. We person taken contiguous enactment to offset substance costs with our eventual absorption connected minimizing the fiscal interaction and preserving our liquidity position. The 3 superior levers disposable to america are adjusting fares to amended align with input costs, moderating unproductive capacity, and pursuing further outgo savings opportunities.

We admit that customers expect beardown worth from JetBlue, and we're continuing to cautiously equilibrium our way to restoring profitability with gathering those expectations. Importantly, request remained strong. This backdrop allows america to retrieve immoderate of the summation successful substance costs, and arsenic such, we've adjusted fares on with the manufacture implicit the past 2 months. Bookings person remained resilient amidst these changes, which is an encouraging sign. However, the archetypal 4th was already implicit 90% booked earlier substance prices abruptly spiked, reducing the accidental to instantly recapture the interaction of this important substance increase. We expect 30% to 40% substance recapture successful the 2nd 4th and program to execute 100% recapture by aboriginal 2027.

Given the broader outgo environment, we've besides made targeted updates to ancillary fees specified arsenic checked bags. This allows america to amended screen costs portion keeping our basal fares competitive. We volition proceed looking for further ways to fortify gross show passim the remainder of the year. At the aforesaid time, we are aggressively reducing capacity, targeting adjustments successful off-peak and enarthrosis periods. We've acted quickly, reducing capableness by astir 1 constituent versus close-in expectations successful the 2nd quarter, with plans to trim the 2nd fractional by astatine slightest 2 to 3 points.