JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024, achieving a fourth quarter operating margin of 0.7% and an adjusted operating margin of 0.8%. The company delivered $395 million of 2024 revenue initiatives, exceeding the target by $95 million. JetBlue's JetForward program contributed $90 million to EBIT in 2024, on track to hit the $800 * $900 million target through 2027.
In terms of operational performance, JetBlue improved its on-time performance by six points and customer satisfaction scores by nearly ten points in 2024 compared to 2023. The airline also climbed to the 6th position in the Wall Street Journal's 2024 airline rankings, marking a three-spot improvement from its 2023 ranking.
JetBlue made significant improvements to its network, including optimizing approximately 20% of its network in 2024, closing 15 BlueCities, and launching and announcing service to several new BlueCities. Additionally, the company delivered $90 million of incremental EBIT driven by preferred seating and adding a complementary carry-on bag to its Blue Basic offering.
Financially, JetBlue successfully concluded its structural cost program, achieving $190 million of total program savings and deferred approximately $3 billion of capital expenditures while raising over $3 billion of strategic financing in 2024.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, JetBlue reported a net loss under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $44 million or $(0.13) per share. The net loss, excluding special items, for the same period amounted to $72 million or $(0.21) per share. JetBlue's operating revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at $2.3 billion, a 2.1% decrease year-over-year.
JetBlue's operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) for the fourth quarter of 2024 decreased by 0.4% year-over-year, while operating expense per available seat mile, excluding fuel, other non-airline operating expenses, and special items (CASM ex-fuel), increased by 11.0% year-over-year.
Looking forward to 2025, JetBlue expressed confidence in its initiatives, expecting an estimated full-year 2025 adjusted operating margin of 0.0% * 1.0%. The company also provided first quarter and full-year 2025 outlooks for metrics such as available seat miles, revenue per available seat mile, CASM ex-fuel, fuel price per gallon, interest expense, and capital expenditures.
JetBlue will be conducting a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings on January 28, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -24.4%, and are now trading at a price of $6.12. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 8-K report here.
