JetBlue Airways unveils its new domestic first-class seats on Wednesday, as more of the country’s carriers bank on the boom in premium travel to make them profitable again.
JetBlue announced it will offer a domestic first class – BlueFirst – in December 2024 and plans to start flying planes with the new seats and full product on board next month. The carrier is introducing the new cabin at its home hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday. Renovations will continue into 2027, CEO Joanna Geraghty told CNBC late last month.
The deployment comes as the New York airline tries to stabilize after last posting a profit in 2019. Last month, JetBlue executives sought to calm investors after the airline’s shares hit a record high following a report that bondholders had hired restructuring advisers.
“We have no intention, no plans to file for bankruptcy. We are not engaged in any restructuring company,” Geraghty told CNBC in an Oct. 27 interview.
Geraghty told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Wednesday that JetBlue had “met with a few creditors over the last couple of weeks as part of… normal investor engagement.” She said the company made it clear to bondholders that JetBlue did not need to reorganize.
The airline’s shares are up more than 40% this month, more than those of other passenger carriers, as of midday Wednesday, although they are still down about 11% year to date.
JetBlue is betting that resilient travel demand, particularly for roomier seats, will help fuel its turnaround plan, which aims to take the carrier to an operating profit next year and $1 in adjusted earnings per share in 2028.
Airline executives said they expect fares to remain high next year as they grapple with higher costs, including but not limited to fuel, such as labor and airport fees. Geraghty said Wednesday that even if fuel prices moderate next year, “I don’t think rates will come down as much as people think.”
JetBlue’s new domestic first class seats.
Courtesy: JetBlue Airways
Airlines large and small are racing to equip their cabins with larger, more expensive seats to help cover ever-higher costs, from jet fuel to labor to airport operating costs.
For example, a ticket in the new lie-flat first-class seats between Kennedy Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida costs $847 round-trip the first week of March, while standard economy costs $446.
Tuesday, budget carrier Border Airlines has revealed its new first class seats, which will occupy the first two rows, and announced that it will equip its Airbus fleet with premium seats offering more legroom and power in seats up to the eighth row. The airline will remove a row of seats on its planes to accommodate more expensive ones, Chief Marketing Officer Bobby Schroeter told CNBC on Monday.
JetBlue announced last month that it ended the third quarter with $2.2 billion in cash and that its unencumbered asset base now stood at $7 billion, including $2.8 billion in aircraft and engines.
JetBlue had total debt of $8.4 billion as of Sept. 30, the carrier said in its earnings report.
Geraghty told CNBC last month that there is a “fundamental disconnect between the bond market narrative and what our financial results actually demonstrate.”
Asked if JetBlue’s goal of keeping costs low included furloughs, layoffs or buyouts, Geraghty said last month “absolutely not.”
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