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JetBlue Airways (JBLU+0.52%) delivered an early Christmas present to its investors. In a securities filing, the company raised its guidance for the year on the back of what is shaping up to be a better-than-expected close to the fourth quarter.
“Booking performance for travel in November and December was higher than expectations immediately following the U.S. presidential election and as a result, the fourth quarter revenue headwind from the election is now estimated to be 0.5 points compared to the previous forecast of 1.0 point,” the company said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
The airline’s stock is up more than 8% in Wednesday trading. Though the carrier still expects revenue in the fourth quarter to shrink by as much as 5% compared to 2023, that’s better than the worst-case scenario of a 7% drop that it had previously laid out. The shrinking shrinkage is an indication that JetBlue might be figuring out a way forward after what CEO Joanna Geraghty has taken to calling the “three years of distractions” that culminated in its abandoned effort to merge with the now-bankrupt Spirit Airlines earlier this year.
“Furthermore, improved close-in demand and strong operational performance over Thanksgiving week resulted in better revenue performance during the November holiday peak,” JetBlue noted in its statement. “For travel in December, in-quarter bookings have exceeded prior expectations in both peak and off-peak travel periods.”
JetBlue peer Delta Air Lines (DAL-1.40%) warned alongside its third-quarter earnings release in October that travelers would be fearful of flying in the period around the election — to the extent that Delta estimated it would lose $150 million in revenue to that anxiety. But strong holiday bookings appear to have overshadowed earlier concerns about election-related travel disruptions.