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JetBlue is trimming more than Christmas trees as it positions itself for 2025. CNBC reports that the company is shedding routes throughout the U.S. in order to increase its profits from passenger travel.
The routes in question would reportedly be in markets like New York City, Miami, and Austin, Texas. The Miami-to-New York trip is the most popular one in America, and JetBlue has the largest market share along it.
Though JetBlue recently raised its year-end guidance for 2024 on the back of strong holiday-season travel demand, it is still expecting revenue to fall compared to 2023 by as much as 5%. The company has been trying to figure out a solo path forward for itself after calling off a merger with the now-bankrupt budget carrier Spirit Airlines in March. A judge blocked the tie-up on anti-trust grounds; CEO Joanna Geraghty has called the drama “three years of distractions” after its unfruitful end.
Cutting routes helps reduce supply for airfares and makes the tickets more expensive and profitable. United Airlines (UAL-2.23%) made that move earlier in the year and has been bragging to investors about how much of tailwind it will be for growth.
JetBlue did not immediately respond to a Quartz request for comment, but it did tell CNBC (CMCSA-0.18%) that “recently we made some network adjustments in certain markets, removing some underperforming flying from our schedule, allowing us to redeploy resources, including our popular Mint service, toward high-demand markets and new opportunities.”